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The pear is a widespread, hardy fruit tree that can be successfully grown in any garden. Breeders annually produce new varieties of this crop with unique properties and characteristics. Among the huge variety of existing varieties, the Conference pear has been withstanding serious competition for more than 100 years and is popular with gardeners all over the world. Wide popularity and demand for a long period of time is justified by the excellent agrotechnical characteristics of the variety and the excellent quality of the fruit. So, the pear “Conference” today is grown not only in household plots, but also in horticultural farms. Fruits of this variety can often be found on store shelves. Growing a fruit tree with your own hands is quite simple. In our article, we will give a detailed guide on how to do this and present a description of the Conference pear, photos and reviews of this legendary variety.
Detailed description of the variety
The history of the creation of the wonderful variety “Conference” goes back to the distant 1885 with its origins. It was then that British scientists received a new type of pear with excellent characteristics. After lengthy testing, the breeders presented their offspring to the public at the British Conference in 1895. In honor of this event, the variety got its extraordinary name. Pear “Conference” quickly gained recognition among farmers and spread throughout the European continent, and then beyond. Today, the popularity of the variety does not fade. “Conference” is grown everywhere, including in Our Country, mainly in the southern regions.
Characteristics of a fruit tree
Pear “Conference” is noticeably different from other varieties. This fruit tree is tall, lush. Its height reaches 4-5 m. The branches of the “Conference” are sprawling, strongly leafy. The pear crown is so dense and voluminous that its radius can reach 5 m. The fruit tree quickly grows young shoots, 60-70 cm per season. Such active growth of greenery requires regular and careful crown formation. Every year, during the pruning process, farmers recommend cutting the branches so that the shape of the tree is cone-shaped. This will give a neat, decorative look to the plant, opening its lower branches to the penetration of sunlight and uniform ripening of fruits.
Pear blossom “Conference” occurs in the first decade of May. It is always abundant and long lasting. Fruit tree flowers are simple, consist of 5 white petals. They are collected in inflorescences of 6-10 pieces. Variety “Conference” is characterized by relatively low resistance to weather disasters. So, winter spring can lead to falling flowers and lower yields.
The undoubted advantage of the “Conference” variety is its high self-pollination. Depending on weather conditions, ovaries are formed from 60-70% of flowers. You can further increase this figure by placing another pollinator tree in the immediate vicinity. The presence of such varieties as “Bere Bosk”, “Williams” favorably affects the “Conference”. It is worth noting that pollinating pears can not only increase the yield, but also improve the taste of fruits of the Conference variety.
Description of fruits
After planting, the seedling of the “Conference” variety will not keep you waiting for the harvest for a long time. Already a four-year-old fruit tree will give several kilograms of ripe, tasty pears. As the tree grows, the yield of the tree increases. From each adult pear in favorable climatic conditions, it is possible to collect about 70-100 kg per season.
The ripening of pears of the “Conference” variety occurs in the second half of September. Ripe fruits are very juicy and sweet. Their flesh is slightly oily and creamy in color. The average weight of fruits is 130-150 g. Small or extra large pears of this variety are formed extremely rarely. Harvest is usually uniform. The shape of the fruit is cone-shaped, elongated, slightly similar to a bottle. The peel of pears is matte, rather dense, slightly harsh. Its color is green-yellow. A golden brown hue can be observed on some fruits on the sunlit side. The fruits of the “Conference” variety are securely attached to the branches with the help of strongly curved, short stalks, due to which they rarely fall off.
The taste of Conference pears is excellent: the pulp is very sweet and fragrant. It consists of many small grains, which only add additional sophistication to a fresh product.
Pears of the proposed variety are not only tasty, but also very healthy. They contain a whole complex of minerals, vitamins of groups A, B, C. Citric, oxalic and malic acids are also present in the fruits. The tannins contained in the skin of the pear have a number of useful properties and are widely used in medicine. It is because of the tannin content that the Conference pear has a slightly tart taste.
You can see the harvest of pears of the “Conference” variety, evaluate the external qualities of the fruit and hear the comments of the agrarian on the video:
Variety resistance to external factors
Pear “Conference” is characterized by thermophilicity and is recommended for cultivation in the southern regions of Our Country. Low winter hardiness does not allow the fruit tree to endure wintering at temperatures below -180C. This factor is, perhaps, one of the main disadvantages of the proposed variety.
A variety bred many years ago has no protection against various diseases, so every gardener must take care of protecting his plant on his own. So, growing the Conference pear, you should beware of the following ailments:
- Septoria is manifested by white or brown spots on the leaves, shoots of the plant and the pears themselves. The disease leads to deformation of the fetus and leaf fall, slow growth of young shoots. You can resist the disease with the help of preventive spraying of the fruit tree with fungicides.
- Scab is a small, but numerous brown spots, covered with a barely noticeable pile, on the leaves and fruits of the pear. To prevent the disease, Bordeaux mixture or urea solution should be used. Affected areas of the tree are recommended to be cut and burned.
- Rust on the leaves appears as orange spots. Crown areas damaged by this disease must be treated with copper-containing preparations.
- Fruit rot is easy to identify by the presence of characteristic, foul-smelling lesions on the surface of the fruit. After the destruction of rotten pears, the fruit tree should be treated with Biomix.
- Powdery mildew is called a gray coating on the leaves. Under the influence of the disease, they dry out. The drug in this case is an aqueous solution of soda ash with laundry soap.
- You can fight aphids on a pear with special preparations: Agroverin, Iskra-Bio.
In addition to the listed diseases, when growing the Conference pear, you can encounter other diseases, the signs and treatment of which can be found in the video:
Advantages and disadvantages
Many years of experience in growing pears “Conference” allows us to talk about the advantages and disadvantages of the variety. So, among the positive qualities of the variety should be highlighted:
- active growth of the fruit tree and early fruiting;
- abundant, annual harvest;
- high level of self-pollination;
- excellent fruit quality;
- good marketability and transportability of fruits.
Speaking about the disadvantages of the “Conference” variety, you should pay attention to the following nuances:
- low winter hardiness of the variety;
- dependence of productivity on weather conditions;
- low genetic resistance to diseases.
Regular fruiting and high yields make it possible to grow pears of the “Conference” variety in horticultural farms, with a view to the subsequent sale of fruits. Delicious pears are popular with buyers and bring good income. The only condition for industrial farmers is to comply with the rules of cultivation and the implementation of preventive measures to protect fruit trees from diseases and pests.
How to grow
Pear “Conference” can grow and successfully bear fruit in one place for more than 40 years. Therefore, before planting a seedling, you need to choose the right place:
- A large fruit tree cannot be placed near stationary objects on the site.
- Pear “Conference” prefers to grow on loose, well-drained and fertile soil.
- The soil for the pear should preferably be neutral acidity or slightly alkaline.
- The seedling should be placed on a sunny plot of land, protected from strong winds.
- Groundwater at the site should not be higher than 1,5 m from the surface of the earth.
- Mountain ash should not be near the pear. The proximity of these plants provokes the development of diseases.
A young seedling of the Conference variety should be planted in autumn around mid-September. For this, you first need to prepare a planting pit and a nutrient substrate containing organic matter and minerals. At the bottom of the pit, it is additionally recommended to put a few handfuls of rust.
Before planting, the roots of the “Conference” seedling must be shortened a little, soaked in water for an hour and coated with a nutrient mixture of water, manure and clay, mixed in a ratio of 6:2:1. When immersing a pear in a planting hole, it is necessary to straighten the roots of the seedling and deepen them so that the root neck of the tree rises 6-8 cm above ground level.
The roots of the seedling must be covered with fertile soil and compacted. For watering the plant, you need to use 15-20 liters of water. The trunk circle of the pear should be mulched. For a safe wintering, the trunk of a fruit tree must be wrapped with burlap.
Plant care in early spring should begin with the removal of burlap and other shelters. The tree trunk must be inspected, if there are cracks, treat the damaged areas with a strong solution of potassium permanganate. After processing, the trunk of the seedling must additionally be covered with garden pitch or lime. The soil in the near-trunk circle of the fruit tree must be loosened to saturate the roots of the pear with oxygen.
The “Conference” sapling for the next year after planting does not need to be fed, provided that a sufficient amount of minerals and organic matter was laid in the planting pit. In subsequent years, it is necessary to add organic matter in the amount of 2 kg per 1 mXNUMX to the pear trunk circle.2 soil. For an adult plant, in addition to organic substances, it is also recommended to use potassium sulfate, complex fertilizers and urea. Immediately before flowering, once a season, foliar treatment of the seedling with a solution of superphosphate at a concentration of 3% can be carried out. This measure will significantly increase the yield and improve the quality of future fruits.
Soil moisture is extremely important for the Conference pear. A sufficient amount of water nourishes the plant itself and makes the fruit juicy, sweet. To obtain a high-quality crop, it is recommended to water every 1 m 3 every 1 days.2 soil in the trunk circle with 20 liters of water.
Thus, timely, proper care of the Conference pear will allow you to get the highest quality fruit crop in large quantities. Preventive treatment of the tree with folk remedies and special preparations will protect the existing crop from parasites and diseases.
Conclusion
The Conference pear is undoubtedly worthy of praise, because for a hundred years it has not found a worthy replacement among hundreds of other varieties. With relatively modest external qualities, the fruits have an excellent taste and aroma. Fruits are well stored, suitable for making desserts, jams, compotes and jellies. One fruit tree in a well-produced area can feed the whole family with wholesome fresh and tasty canned fruits all year round. To do this, you just need to show him a little care.