The world pear industry and research: present situation and future development of European pears (Pyrus communis)

The first part of the paper will concentrate on the evolution of the European pear industry in the world, while the second part will concentrate on the research topic, within the European pear industry. The European pear culture is concentrated in an area with geographical and climatological advances which results in a very good fruit quality. The European pear production is concentrated in five production area: Europe, North America, South America, South Africa and Oceania. Europe is the most important pear producer but there is a small reduction in pear area, mainly due to the phytosanitary problems like the bacterial disease fire blight (Erwinia amylovora) in some production area. In the near future a small extension of about 3 % in the pear growing area in Europe is expected. There is a strong need for new pear cultivars, which can combine good taste quality for fresh consumption with a capacity for industrial processing of the fruits. The interspecific crosses between European pear (Pyrus communis, L.) and Nashi pear (Pyrus serotina) can combine the excellent flavour characteristics of the European pear with the firm, crispy fruit quality of the nashi pear. They could bring a complete new fruit type with good commercial possibilities when introduced correctly. During the last decade, integrated pest management (IPM) has become the standard plant protection system of European pear growing. In IPM pear production, the control of the codling moth (Cydia pomonella, L.) is based on pheromone mating disruption and the control of Cacopsylla sp. is made by anthocoridae naturally present or artificially introduced in an orchard. But IPM is more than insect control alone: for scab (Venturia inaequalis) control is based on warning systems trying to reduce the number of fungicide applications. In Southern Europe brown spot (Steinphyllicum Vesicarium) is a major concern and also for this fungal problem special prediction systems are in study. There is an increasing interest for organic pear production. In many pear production area organic pear production with the standard pear cultivars is very difficult but in area with a low yearly precipitation and with sufficient water availability for irrigation, organic pear production will increase strongly in the near future. The right management of the nitrogen nutrition and the weed control programs are crucial cultural measures in the organic pear production.