NCGR-Corvallis - Pyrus Germplasm

NCGR Pear Catalogs with links to the GRIN database:

• All NCGR Pear Cultivars and Selections
• Pyrus Species Maintained as Trees
• Seed Accessions

Trait Subsets

• Fruit Characters
  • Early Ripening
  • Late Ripening  
  • Large Fruit
  • Red Flesh
  • Red Skin
• Tree Characters
  • Compact Habit
  • Cold Hardy
  • Low Chill
  • Ornamental
  • Polyploid
• Special Uses
  • Perry Pears
  • Graft Compatible with Quince
  • Rootstock Selections
• Pest and Environment Adaptations
  • Fabraea Leaf Spot Resistant
  • Fire Blight Resistant
  • Mildew Resistant
  • Psylla Resistant
  • Scab Resistant
• Core Collection - The 'core' is a subset of the pear germplasm collection consisting of approximately 10% of accessions and representing the maximum genetic diversity of the genus.

Search GRIN Database

• Retrieve List of Pyrus species from GRIN taxonomy database
• Summary of Pyrus germplasm collection by species
• Summary of Pyrus germplasm collection by country of origin

• Pyrus Crop Vulnerability Statement
  (last updated 2004)
• Membership of Pyrus Crop Germplasm Committee (CGC)

Pyrus evaluation results:

• Crop descriptors for Pyrus
• Query descriptors using short form
• Query descriptors using long form
• Pyrus Accessions - Keyword Search

Historic Fruits

• Pear Illustrations from The Pears of New York
• USDA Pomological Watercolors - 19th and 20th century illustrations from the National Agricultural Library.
• Ancient Pear Cultivars - Descriptions of some ancient pears preserved at NCGR-Corvallis
• Pears from the Past - Brief descriptions of NCGR pear accessions originating prior to 1850.
• The Endicott Pear - Oldest fruit tree in North America
• The Endicott Pear - ARS Science for Kids!
• The Hager Grove Pear - Salem, Oregon 1850
• Henderson Luelling - First fruit cultivars brought to the Oregon Territory in 1846.
• Felix Gillet Nursery, Nevada City, California 1871
• The Book of Pears and Plums - by Edward Bartrum 1903. Full text and images from the Core Historical Literature of Agriculture, Cornell University
• The Pears of New York - by U.P. Hedrick, 1921; full text.

Pear Cultivars, Species, Conservation

• Rare and Endangered species search utility for IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
• US Plant Patent Database - search for pears - Retrieve the full text of plant patents issued since 1976
• American Pomological Society
• Brogdale Horticultural Trust - National Fruit Trials in England
• ECP/GR Pyrus Database - European Cooperative Program for Genetic Resources
• Pear Varieties Important in the Pacific Northwest US
• California Rare Fruit Growers
• Home Orchard Society
• North American Fruit Explorers
• Seed Savers Exchange
• Varieties De Poires - A French page with photographs and brief descriptions of modern and classic pear cultivars.
• Pear species and common names in multiple languages - compiled by M.H. Porcher et al. The University of Melbourne. Australia.

Pests and Diseases

• Oregon Plant Disease Online Reference - Pears
• Pome Fruit Pathogen Collections Maintained at NCGR-Corvallis
• Common Names of Pear Diseases Compiled by the American Phytopathological Society
• Internationally Recommended Methods for Detection of Pear Viruses
• Descriptions of Pome Fruit Viruses and Virus-like Diseases from NRSP-5
• Post-Harvest Diseases of Pear - Images and Descriptions
• Fabraea Leaf Spot - Fact Sheet from West Virginia University
• Fire Blight - Fact Sheet from West Virginia University
• Pear Scab - Fact Sheet from West Virginia University

Commercial Production - Propagation

• The Washington Tree Fruit Research Commission
• The California Pear Industry Pages
• The California Fruit and Nut Information Center at U.C. Davis
• USA Pears - The Pear Bureau Northwest Industry Pages
• Asian Pears - by James Beutell Beutel, J.A. 1990. Asian pears. p. 304-309. In: J. Janick and J.E. Simon (eds.), Advances in new crops. Timber Press,Portland, OR.
• Pyrus Seed Germination - PDF file of recently updated Pyrus chapter in the USDA Forest Service Handbook "Woody Plant Seed Manual."
• Woody Plant Seed Manual - index to genera

Interesting Repository Accessions

• Le Nain Vert - Genetic Dwarf Pear
• Old Home x Farmingdale - The Romeo and Juliet of Pear Rootstocks
• Sorbopyrus - An Interesting Intergeneric Hybrid Between Pear and Mountain Ash.
• Pyrus regellii from Kazakhstan - has finely dissected leaves like a Japanese maple.