Breeding of Fruit and Plantation Crops

Pear

• Pear, Pyrus communis, has a chromosome number of 2n=34. Breeding objectives are to develop dwarf scion and dwarf rootstocks tolerant to wet and saline soils and resistant to diseases like Ganoderma and root rot, free from low bud differentiation, alternate and shy-bearing of Baghugasha and Le Conte and selection of superior clones of Patharnakh and Baggugosha.

Breeding methods
Introduction

• Important and popular cultivars such as Bartlett, Anjou, Kieffer are only introductions from Europe and are well acclimatized to the Northern and Southern Indian hills. A lot of variability, however, exists in soft pear plantations for yield, regular bearing, fruit size, shape, skin colour and fruit quality. An extensive survey of pear growing areas in Punjab and adjoining states taken up by the PAU, Ludhiana resulted in the identification of 19 superior strains of soft pears. Of these, soft-fleshed selections ‘Red Blush” ‘Punjab Gold’ and “Punjab Nectar” are promising. Red Blush recorded the highest yield (23.7 tonnes/ha) with good quality attributes.