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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 #417791
Research Project: Superior Fruit Tree Cultivars for Orchard Resilience, Sustainability, and Consumer Appeal

Location: Innovative Fruit Production, Improvement, and Protection

Title: Over a century of pear breeding at the USDA

Author
item Gottschalk, Christopher
item Dardick, Christopher - Chris
item Volk, Gayle
item BELL, RICHARD - Retired ARS Employee

Submitted to: Frontiers in Plant Science
Publication Type: Review Article
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/19/2024
Publication Date: 9/11/2024
Citation: Gottschalk, C.C., Dardick, C.D., Volk, G.M., Bell, R. 2024. Over a century of pear breeding at the USDA. Frontiers in Plant Science. 15:1474143. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2024.1474143.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2024.1474143

Interpretive Summary: The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has performed European pear (Pyrus communis L.) scion breeding for over a century. The breeding program started in the early 1900s by Merton B. Waite in the Washington D.C. area and the program’s main goal was to develop host resistance to the devastating disease fire blight, caused by Erwinia amylovora. Most of the historic European pear cultivars being produced in the U.S. were susceptible to fire blight, prompting a need to breed for resistance. More than six generations of USDA breeders have continued this effort to breed disease-resistant European pears. Along with fire blight resistance, the pear breeding programs sought improved fruit quality, cold hardiness, and resistance to psylla (Cacopsylla pyricola Foërster), a significant insect pest of pear. Herein, we discuss the history of the program through each generation of breeder(s). We also present breeding aims, parental selection, and releases. In total, the program has released ten named pear varieties between 1938 and 2022.

Technical Abstract: The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has performed European pear (Pyrus communis L.) scion breeding for over a century. The breeding program started in the early 1900s by Merton B. Waite in the Washington D.C. area and the program’s main goal was to develop host resistance to the devastating disease fire blight, caused by Erwinia amylovora. Most of the historic European pear cultivars being produced in the U.S. were susceptible to fire blight, prompting a need to breed for resistance. More than six generations of USDA breeders have continued this effort to breed disease-resistant European pears. Along with fire blight resistance, the pear breeding programs sought improved fruit quality, cold hardiness, and resistance to psylla (Cacopsylla pyricola Foërster), a significant insect pest of pear. Herein, we discuss the history of the program through each generation of breeder(s). We also present breeding aims, parental selection, and releases. In total, the program has released ten named pear varieties between 1938 and 2022.