INTRODUCTION
Pear is next only to apple amongst temperate fruits

in acreage, production and varietal diversity. Due to its hardy
nature, tolerance to wide range of soils, it needs less care
and can grow under different agro-climatic conditions
(Misger et al, 2009). It is successfully grown in both
temperate and sub-tropical regions of J & K, Himachal
Pradesh and Uttaranchal and sub-tropical regions of Punjab,
Assam and South India as it can tolerate as low as – 26oC
during dormant period and as high as 45oC during growing
season (Anonymous, 2011). In Kashmir valley, the area under
pear is 6644 ha with annual production of 31423 MT (Anon.,
2012). Majority of cultivars grown in the valley are having
characteristics like crispiness and hardiness in fruit texture,
not acceptable to the consumers (Farooqui and Happa, 1990)
besides being low yielding and susceptible to many pests
and disease. Since the superior quality of pear cultivars are
confined to the high hills of Kashmir valley, due to the
availability of its high chilling requirements ranging from 500-
1500 hours. Therefore an effort has been made to assess
the performance of new high yielding exotic pear cultivars
under Kashmir valley conditions.

Performance of some exotic pear cultivars under temperate conditions of Kashmir

F.A. Misger,  Amit Kumar* and S.A. Bandey
Division of Fruit Science

Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences & Technology
Kashmir, Srinagar (J & K) - 191 121, India

*E-mail : khokherak@rediffmail.com

ABSTRACT
Seven exotic varieties and two commercially grown cultivars of pear grafted on quince were evaluated for various

physio-chemical characteristics for two years in the orchard of Department of Horticulture, Srinagar, Jammu and
Kashmir. Among various physical characters, Red Anjou recorded maximum fruit length (6.88cm), fruit diameter
(5.77cm), fruit weight (111.36g) and fruit volume (118.48cm2), followed by Coscia for all these characters. No significant
variation was recorded for L/D ratio among the pear cultivars. Maximum fruit firmness (20.77 lb/inch2) was scored by
Cosco-D.  Coscia registered maximum TSS (14.04%) along with minimum acidity (0.30%) and highest TSS/acid
ratio (46.80). Highest reducing sugar (7.92%) and total sugar (9.26%) was scored by Coscia, followed by William
Bartlett as 6.77% of reducing sugar and 7.96% of total sugar. From the present study it is clear, that Red Anjou and
Coscia performed well under Kashmir conditions and is suitable for commercial purpose.

Key words: Performance, exotic, pear, temperate, cultivars

MATERIAL AND METHODS
Eight-year-old seven exotic cultivars viz., Coscia,

Red Anjou, Kaiser, Max Red Bartlett, Cosco-D, Passe
Crassane and Decana along with the two commercially
grown local varieties William Bartlett and Chinese Sandy
Pear as control were used for the present investigation.
The investigations were conducted in the orchard of
Department of Horticulture, Rajbagh, Srinagar, J & K during
2005 and 2006. Nine trees of each cultivar having uniform
size and vigour were selected randomly and all the trees
were kept under similar cultural practices to ensure uniform
growth. The experiment was laid out in the randomized
block design with three replications for each treatment.
Observations on different physical characters of fruit viz.
fruit length, fruit diameter, L/D ratio, fruit weight, fruit volume,
fruit firmness were recorded. Acidity was measured
in terms of malic acid and TSS by using hand refractometer.
Sugars were determined by standard methods (AOAC,
1990). Data collected on various parameters were
statistically analyzed as per the procedure given by Snedecor
and Cochran (1994).

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RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The perusal of pooled data of two years in Table 1

reveals significant variation with respect to all the fruit
characters except L/D ratio. Maximum fruit length (6.88
cm) was recorded in Red Anjou, which was statistically
higher among all the cultivars. While cv. Cosco-D registered
the minimum fruit length (4.87cm). Red Anjou attained the
maximum fruit diameter (5.77cm) which was statistically
at par with Coscia, Kaiser, Max Red Bartlett, Decana and
William Bartlett however; the minimum fruit diameter
(4.31cm) was recorded for Chinese Sandy Pear. No
significant variation was recorded for L/D ratio among the
pear cultivars. All the pear cultivars exhibited oblong shape
however; Red Anjou exhibited more conical form as
compared to Passe Crassane and Cosco-D. Maximum fruit
weight (111.36g) and fruit volume (118.48cm3) was recorded
in Red Anjou, followed by Coscia (107.40g and 115.63cm3).
Red Anjou was statistically superior to Coscia and other
cultivars under study for fruit weight however; it was
statistically at par with Coscia for fruit volume. The lowest
fruit weight (64.15g) and fruit volume (78.70cm3) was
recorded in Cosco-D. The differences in these characters
are largely due to varietal differences, environmental factors
and the vigour of the trees. Earlier Lal and Singh (1979),
Rathore (1982) and Shah (1997) also observed variations
while evaluating pear cultivars.  Cosco-D scored maximum
fruit firmness (20.77 lb/inch2) which was statistically at par
with Passe Crassane (20.33 lb/inch2). Minimum fruit
firmness (10.29 lb/inch2) was registered in Coscia. The
firmness in pears varies with cultivars, climate and utilization
of fruits (Westwood, 1978).

The total soluble solids (14.04%) recorded in Coscia
was found maximum and statistically significant in
comparison to all other cultivars, however, lowest was
recorded in Chinese Sandy Pear (11.02%) (Table 2).
Minimum acidity (0.30%) was recorded in Coscia, Max Red
Bartlett and Cosco-D while the maximum acidity was
exhibited by Red Anjou (0.42%). However, the differences
among pear cultivars were non-significant for acidity.
Rathore (1982), Farooqui and Happa (1990) and
Sandhu et al (2002) also observed similar results with
respect to total soluble solids and acidity. They also
concluded that both low and high quality pear cultivars vary
in acidity. Coscia exhibited highest TSS/acid ratio (48.80)
which was statistically superior among all the cultivars
whereas lowest TSS/acid ratio (28.26) was found in Red
Anjou (Table 2). Maximum reducing sugar (7.92%) along
with maximum non-reducing sugar (1.34%) and total sugar

(9.26%) were registered in Coscia which was statistically
higher among all the cultivars for reducing sugar and total
sugar, however, for non-reducing sugar Coscia was
statistically at par with Decana (1.29%). Minimum reducing
sugar was recorded in Decana (5.71%) however, minimum
non-reducing sugar (0.87%) and total sugar (6.92%) was
scored by Cosco-D (Table 2). These variations in sugars
may be due to the fact that the best dessert cultivars tend
to have high total sugar content and the same is available
in the form of fructose, glucose and sucrose (Griggs and
Iwakiri, 1977).

During the course of studies, the fruits of Coscia
pear cultivar were observed to be better in quality while

Table 1. Physical characteristics of fruits of exotic and indigenous
pear cultivars
Cultivar Fruit Fruit L/D Fruit Fruit Fruit

length diameter ratio weight volume firmness
(cm) (cm) (g) (cm3) (lb/inch2)

Coscia 6.12 5.41 1.13 107.40 115.63 10.29
Red Anjou 6.88 5.77 1.19 111.36 118.48 11.21
Kaiser 6.02 5.34 1.14 102.38 108.55 11.57
Max Red 5.82 5.11 1.13 84.63 95.18 14.10
Bartlett
Cosco-D 4.87 4.51 1.08 64.15 78.70 20.77
Passe 5.11 4.77 1.07 70.96 86.47 20.33
Crassane
Decana 5.88 5.10 1.15 93.23 102.65 15.56
William 5.60 5.04 1.11 84.79 93.23 11.27
Bartlett
Chinese 4.98 4.31 1.15 71.14 84.16 16.02
Sandy Pear
CD (0.05) 0.65 0.98 NS 3.77 4.18 1.75

Table 2. Chemical characteristics of fruits of exotic and indigenous
pear cultivars
Cultivar TSS Acidity TSS/ Reducing Non- Total

(%) (%) acid sugar reducing sugar
ratio (%) sugar (%)

 (%)
Coscia 14.04 0.30 46.80 7.92 1.34 9.26
Red Anjou 11.87 0.42 28.26 6.22 1.12 7.34
Kaiser 11.47 0.32 35.84 5.93 1.18 7.11
Max Red 12.23 0.30 40.77 6.02 1.03 7.05
Bartlett
Cosco-D 12.17 0.30 41.40 6.05 0.87 6.92
Passe 11.35 0.31 36.61 6.02 0.96 6.98
Crassane
Decana 11.83 0.31 38.16 5.71 1.29 7.00
William 12.42 0.32 38.03 6.77 1.19 7.96
Bartlett
Chinese 11.02 0.31 35.55 5.93 1.06 6.99
Sandy Pear
CD (0.05) 1.02 NS 0.25 0.30 0.13 0.20

Misger et al

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147

Red Anjou cultivar were rated better in physical characters
of fruits. It is concluded that Coscia performed best among
all the exotic pear cultivars followed by William Bartlett
and Red Anjou, under agro-climatic conditions of Kashmir
valley while other cultivars did not show any promise.

REFERENCES
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(MS Received 19 September 2013, Revised 20 June 2014, Accepted 27 June 2014)

Performance of exotic pear cultivars in Kashmir

J. Hortl. Sci.
Vol. 9(2):145-147, 2014