Content
It would seem that harvesting pome crops is the most pleasant and simple of gardening work. And what can be difficult here? Collecting pears and apples is a pleasure. The fruits are large and dense, it is impossible to crush them accidentally, in 5-10 minutes you can collect a bucket or basket. And there is no need to bow down, loading your back tired during the season of garden work.
But, it turns out, not everything is so simple. Pears need to be able to collect and properly prepare for storage, otherwise they will not lie for long. Juices, wine and jams made from fruits taken at the wrong time will not taste good, and there will be a lot of waste. This is not to say that this is a whole science, but having a cheat sheet on hand will be useful.
Pear ripeness stages
Some varieties of pears are harvested after reaching consumer ripeness, others are removable. If the fruits are processed, they are torn at the stage of technical maturity. To keep pears as long as possible, to make high-quality juice, wine or jam, you need to clearly understand what the difference is between these concepts.
Technical maturity
The stage when the fruits are ready for processing. This is the earliest phase of maturity of pome crops when the yield is at its maximum. Seeds at technical ripeness are just beginning to turn dark. Even the early varieties are bland, but not gaudy.
Removable (botanical) maturity
It comes when the process of fruit growth and the accumulation of reserve substances in it - sugars, vitamins, minerals, pectins, starch enters the final stage. A cork layer forms between the shoot and the stalk, the fruits are easily separated from the branches. The seed ripening process ends. Fruits reaching this stage may ripen during storage.
Consumer maturity
The time when the fruit acquires the flavor, color, density and aroma characteristic of a particular variety. The nutrient content reaches its maximum. The pears are ready for immediate consumption.
Full physiological maturity
In fruits, accumulative processes stop, useful substances begin to disintegrate. Starch in pears is completely absent, the pulp loses its juiciness, becomes mushy and tasteless.
Such fruits are not eaten, they are brought to the stage of full physiological ripeness only if it is necessary to get the seeds that are ripe in the best way. In private subsidiary farms, it makes no sense to bring pears to such a state.
How to determine the maturity of pears
Most varieties intended for fresh storage and consumption are harvested at the ripening stage. But how do you define it?
A reliable method for determining the ripeness of pears, suitable for any climate and different weather conditions, has not yet been found. And they are looking for it, mainly for use in industrial horticulture. There, harvesting is not such an easy task. From 40 to 60% of the time spent on growing is spent on picking up the fruits, and mainly manual labor is used. If the timing of the harvest is wrong, the losses will be colossal.
The following methods were invented for determining the stage of removable maturity:
- according to the change in the cover color of the fruit, there is even a color scale created separately for each variety;
- iodine starch method, proposed by N. A. Tseluiko, based on changing the amount of starch in pears at different stages of ripeness;
- the relationship between the flowering period and the onset of removable maturity, which turned out to be absolutely inapplicable in the conditions of the countries of the former Soviet Union (due to weather fluctuations, we have an error of 20-40 days);
- determination of the degree of ripeness by the color of the seeds;
- measuring the strength of the pulp, in America a special device was even created - a penetrometer;
- calculation of the total temperature required for ripening pears of each variety separately;
- determination of the degree of ripeness on the basis of the difference in the content of soluble and dry components in fruits, ethylene, chlorophyll, and all this was calculated for each variety;
- statistics of the time of collection of fruits in previous years.
Only the enumeration of methods for determining the degree of maturity took up a lot of space, but there are no reliable ones among them! After detailed instructions, you can add a dozen reservations to each of the points, each of which begins with the words "if" or "but".
It would seem that even in industrial gardening they cannot determine the exact time of harvest, then what should amateurs do? Perhaps someone will be surprised, but it is in private farms where there are no certified biologists and highly paid consultants that the fruits are removed in a time that is close to optimal.
Experience, knowledge and intuition are equally important here. An amateur gardener annually observes his own garden, knows his land and the conditions for growing trees. Harvesting is done when:
- fruits are easily removed from the tree;
- the seeds turn dark;
- summer and autumn pears acquire the color, taste and smell characteristic of the variety;
- on the fruits of winter and late autumn varieties, a waxy coating is formed.
Naturally, you need to take into account the timing of harvesting in previous years, and collect information for the future.
What determines the ripening time of pears
When reading the previous chapter, many questions arise. They all boil down to the following: why are the methods for determining the degree of ripeness of fruits developed by scientists not always reliable? The fact is that too many external factors interfere with theoretical research. For example, calculating cumulative temperatures, the relationship between the ripening time of pears and the time of flowering work ideally in California. The climate there is even, easily predictable, in contrast to the Russian one, where the error in different years can be more than a month.
The ripening time of pears of the same variety growing in the same area in different years can be influenced by:
- damage to wood by low temperatures in winter;
- late spring;
- cold or too hot summers;
- rainfall or irrigation;
- the degree of illumination of the tree;
- soil composition;
- the degree of loading the tree with fruits;
- the intensity of the dressing;
- on the periphery, fruits ripen faster than inside the crown, especially in tall trees;
- damage to the plant by diseases and pests.
Even novice gardeners know that in different regions the crops are harvested from the same variety at different times.
When to pick pears
There are more than 5 thousand varieties of pears with different ripening times. To determine when to harvest, you must first decide where the fruit will go - for fresh consumption, storage or processing. Moreover, it must be remembered that the early varieties are unsuitable for storage, and the later ones are not eaten immediately after being removed from the tree.
Why pears need to be picked on time
When harvesting, you need to know the harvest period. Summer and autumn pear varieties need to be cut off in 4-7 days.In winter, the collection period is longer - from 8 to 15 days. Quickly crumbling fruits must be removed without delay, otherwise they will fall off and be damaged. On tall trees, pear harvesting begins at the periphery - there they ripen faster.
Untimely removal of fruits negatively affects their keeping quality and quality, and in some cases can damage the tree.
If you hurry with the harvest:
- pears are stored worse;
- the quality of the fruits will be defective, since they will not have time to accumulate all possible useful and aromatic substances;
- the peel of early plucked pears turns brown more often and more than that of those picked on time;
- the yield will be smaller, since just before the onset of removable ripeness, the size of the fruits increases by 1-2% per day;
- if pears are torn off too early, they will not be able to acquire the characteristic color of the variety during storage and will remain green;
- late varieties do not have time to become covered with a wax coating, the fruits quickly lose moisture, nutrients and wither.
Consequences of late harvest:
- losses from fruit falling;
- deterioration in transportability;
- decrease in keeping quality, overripe pears are poorly stored;
- in some varieties, the pulp becomes mealy;
- overripe fruits are more susceptible to disease damage during storage;
- late varieties can be frozen;
- in overripe fruits, the amount of nutrients decreases;
- overripe pears become too soft, they are easy to damage when picking fruits, and during storage, most varieties have the so-called rotten effect;
- harvesting at a later date negatively affects the next year's harvest, as it leads to a decrease in the number of flower buds laid;
- a delay in harvesting does not give trees enough time to prepare for winter, which weakens them, reduces winter hardiness and frost resistance (these are two different things).
When to collect pears for processing
The blanks are made from pears of summer and early autumn varieties. They are picked at the stage of technical maturity, when the juice content in the fruit reaches its maximum.
Ripe fruits lose their shape during canning. When making juice and wine, they do not give off enough liquid. Green pears are too hard and tasteless, completely devoid of flavor. At the stage of technical ripeness, the fruits just reach the "golden mean" - the most juicy, the taste and aroma, although they have not reached their peak, are already expressed.
Collecting pears depending on the ripening period
According to the ripening time, pear varieties are usually divided into summer, autumn and winter. They differ in terms of harvesting and storage of crops, readiness for fresh consumption, use for processing.
The keeping quality mentioned below is indicated for conditions that you can create yourself. Pears are kept in special industrial storage facilities for much longer.
When to harvest summer varieties
Summer pears ripening in July-August have the same consumer maturity as removable ones, they are ready for immediate consumption. Only in farms, the harvest is harvested a few days earlier in order to have time to deliver the fruits to retail chains or markets. They reach consumer ripeness during transportation.
During harvesting, summer pears acquire the color, taste and aroma of the variety. The fruits are easily removed from the tree. The bones are dark in color.
Summer varieties are not suitable for storage. Even if you provide suitable conditions, they will not lie for more than 10-15 days. Only some varieties can be stored for 1-2 months.
It is summer pears that are most often put into processing because they cannot be eaten before they go bad.True, the fruits intended for harvesting must be removed in technical maturity.
When to harvest autumn varieties
Mid-ripening pears, which are harvested from mid-August to late September, are usually divided into early-autumn and late-autumn varieties. The former are closer to the summer ones in their qualities, the latter are similar to the winter ones.
Early autumn varieties are usually harvested at the end of the removable maturity stage or upon reaching the consumer. These phases may coincide or differ by several days. Pears are consumed immediately, stored no longer than 1-2 months. They are often allowed for processing, but then the harvest is carried out at technical maturity.
Late autumn varieties are removed when removable ripeness is reached. They will be ready for use in 2-4 weeks, stored for 1.5-3 months. Such pears are rarely allowed for processing, since they are fresh until the New Year.
When to collect winter pear varieties for storage
Winter pears are harvested from the end of September at the stage of removable maturity. Even the latest varieties must be removed from the tree before the frost begins, since freezing temperatures sharply reduce their keeping quality.
Winter pears reach consumer maturity during storage, after 3-4 weeks. If you pick the fruit from the tree and eat it, you cannot recognize the real taste. That is why many gardeners complain: "I can't find a good winter pear variety." The variety is perhaps wonderful, just ate it at the wrong time. Yes, such a pear will definitely be juicy, most likely sweet, but unappetizing. She was simply not allowed to mature, to gain aroma and taste.
With proper storage, winter varieties are 3-6 months old. Their cleaning period is the most extended.
Harvesting rules
Pears are harvested in dry weather after the dew has disappeared. You cannot pick fruits in the rain or after it, while the fruits are wet, they will not lie for long, with a high probability they will get sick with fruit rot.
Pears intended for storage must be torn carefully - without pressing down, together with the stalk. Late varieties, covered with a waxy bloom, are harvested with gloves - this is less likely to disturb the natural protective layer. You cannot pull down, pull or twist the pears. This will cause the stalk to break or remain on the tree along with some of the fruit.
To prevent the pears from falling off, the fruits located on the lower branches are first removed, then they move to the middle and top of the tree. On spreading specimens, they go from the periphery to the center.
When picking late varieties of pears, you may not have time to freeze. Then the fruit should not be in a hurry to remove, you need to let them thaw naturally on the tree. Such pears will be stored much less than those that were collected on time, they need to be eaten quickly.
Conclusion
Collect pears carefully and on time, especially late varieties intended for storage. The most difficult thing is to choose the right time for picking fruits, only experience and attentive attitude to the garden will help.
