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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Kearneysville, West Virginia » Appalachian Fruit Research Laboratory » Innovative Fruit Production, Improvement, and Protection » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #190690

Title: 'SHENANDOAH' PEAR

Author
item Bell, Richard
item Vanderzwet, Tom

Submitted to: HortScience
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/24/2008
Publication Date: 11/20/2008
Citation: Bell, R.L. and Vanderzwet, T. 2008. 'Shenandoah' pear. HortScience. 43(7):2219-2221.

Interpretive Summary: Fire blight, caused by the bacterium Erwinia amylovora (Burr.) Winsl. et al, the major disease problem of pear trees, and is endemic in most production regions of the northern hemisphere. All cultivars of commercial importance, as well as most of those available to home orchardists are susceptible to this devastating disease. 'Shenandoah' pear (Pyrus communis L.) was developed, selected, and introduced as a new cultivar that combines spicy aromatic fruit flavor, consistent yields, and resistance to fire blight. 'Shenandoah' also possesses a long storage life, an absence of core breakdown and resistance to superficial scald, which are also economically important physiological traits. 'Shenandoah' was approved for joint release by the U. S. Department of Agriculture and The Ohio State University as a fresh market pear for commercial and home orchards. The new pear cultivar will allow production of high quality fruit without the substantial economic losses due losses in storage and fire blight.

Technical Abstract: 'Shenandoah' pear (Pyrus communis L.) is a new cultivar that combines spicy aromatic fruit flavor, long storage life, large fruit size, consistent yields, and moderate resistance to fire blight. Fire blight, caused by the bacterium Erwinia amylovora (Burr.) Winsl. et al, is the major disease problem of pear trees and is endemic in most production regions of the northern hemisphere. All cultivars of commercial importance, as well as most of those available to home orchardists, are susceptible to this devastating disease. 'Shenandoah' also possesses an absence of core breakdown and resistance to superficial scald, which are also economically important physiological traits. 'Shenandoah' was approved for joint release in 2003 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Ohio State University as a fresh market pear for commercial and home orchards.