A Conference pear is a variety of

pear Pears are fruits produced and consumed around the world, growing on a tree and harvested in late summer into mid-autumn. The pear tree and shrub are a species of genus ''Pyrus'' , in the Family (biology), family Rosaceae, bearing the Pome, po ...

. It is an autumn

cultivar A cultivar is a kind of Horticulture, cultivated plant that people have selected for desired phenotypic trait, traits and which retains those traits when Plant propagation, propagated. Methods used to propagate cultivars include division, root a ...

(cultivated variety) of the

European pear ''Pyrus communis'', the common pear, is a species of pear native to central and eastern Europe, and western Asia. It is one of the most important fruits of temperate regions, being the species from which most orchard pear cultivars grown in Eur ...

(''Pyrus communis''). The variety was developed in Britain by Thomas Francis Rivers from his Rivers Nursery in

Sawbridgeworth Sawbridgeworth (traditionally or , now also ) is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Hertfordshire, England, close to the border with Essex. It is east of Hertford and north of Epping, Essex, Epping. It is the northernmo ...

, Hertfordshire. Its name derives from the National British Pear Conference in London in 1885, where it won first prize.

Description

A medium-sized pear with an elongated bottle shape, the Conference pear is similar in appearance to the ' Bosc pear'. A table pear, it is suitable for fresh-cut processing. The fruit skin is thick greenish-brown, becoming pale yellow when ripe. The flesh is white, but turns pale yellow when the pear is ripe. The texture is very fine and soft, and the flavour is sweet. The brown part of the skin is called russet or russetting; it is more or less apparent depending on weather conditions.

Cultivation and production

The Conference pear adapts to a variety of conditions, and is widely grown in Europe. It thrives on land that is sunny, rich and not too chalky. In France, the production areas of this variety are mostly in the north (

Loire The Loire ( , , ; ; ; ; ) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhône. It rises in the so ...

, North Picardy) and the Alps (

Savoie Savoie (; Arpitan: ''Savouè'' or ''Savouè-d'Avâl''; English: ''Savoy'' ) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, Southeastern France. Located in the French Alps, its prefecture is Chambéry. In 2019, Savoie had a population o ...

and the little Southern Alps). It is grown commercially in many areas of the United Kingdom and accounts for around 90% of UK pears. Production will be enhanced by the nearby presence of pollinating varieties such as the

Williams pear The Williams' bon chrétien pear, commonly called the Williams pear, or the Bartlett pear in the United States and Canada, is a cultivar (cultivated variety) of the species ''Pyrus communis'', commonly known as the European pear. The fruit has a ...

. It is a particularly resistant fruit, especially against scab. The Conference pear can be eaten until January if kept cool in a refrigerator or cellar ventilated. There is strong sales competition in Europe from neighbouring countries (in order: Netherlands, Belgium, Spain and Italy). The flavour of Conference pears grown in

, was recognized in 1996 by a PGI (a

Protected Geographical Indication Three European Union schemes of geographical indications and Traditional food, traditional specialties, known as protected designation of origin (PDO), protected geographical indication (PGI), and traditional speciality guaranteed (TSG), promote ...

) in the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

, and 2012 it was the only PGI obtained by a pear in France.

Mutants

Some mutants of the Conference pear are grown commercially as club varieties. These include: * Corina, a mutant of Conference, which is suited to earlier picking, although with smaller fruit size. * Red Conference, a red color mutation with growing popularity. Red-conference-pears

References

Royal Horticultural Society - Pear Conference *
Agreste
- Ministère de l'agriculture Information sur la production en France *
INAO
- PGI/IGP SAVOIE. {{Pyrus Pear cultivars