Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/40315
Pears Britain Reviving the British pear British pear production is on the decline, but a supermarket, a fruit marketer, and East Malling Research are hoping to turn that around. by Geraldine Warner East Malling Farm Manager Graham Caspell explains the four different high-density training systems in a demonstration pear orchard. B ritish pear growers have been removing pear orchards at an alarming rate because they've not been profitable. Now, the East Malling Research Center in the United Kingdom is trying to demonstrate the feasibility of growing pears using modern systems. It's been reported that U.K. pear acreage dropped by 40 percent between 1997 and 2006 as growers removed unproductive orchards. At the same time, pear pro- duction in the Netherlands, across the English Channel, has been increasing, as growers plant new high-density pear orchards using techniques borrowed from apples. Dutch growers have proven that it's possible to have good production—say, 55 bins per acre—from a pear orchard in years three, four, and five, whereas U.K. pear orchards have typically yielded around 20 bins per acre, and not until years seven or eight, said Graham Caspell, farm manager at East Malling. (Continued on page 16) www.goodfruit.com GOOD FRUIT GROWER SEPTEMBER 2011 15 geraldine warner