Research PaperThe Japanese pear 'Hosui' improves the fertility of European pears 'Spadona' and 'Coscia'

- The European pears 'Spadona' and 'Coscia' are semi-compatible with most of their pollenizers.
- The Japanese pear 'Hosui' is fully-compatible and flower simultaneously with 'Spadona' and 'Coscia'.
- Pollination of 'Spadona' and 'Coscia' with 'Hosui' increases seed number and consequently improves fruit quality and quantity.

In a previous work, it was found that 'Spadona' the main European pear cultivar grown in Israel, is semi-compatible with each of its three pollinators 'Gentile','Coscia' and 'Spadochina'. Thus, the full yield potential of these cultivars is not being realized. The Japanese pear (Pyrus pyrifolia) can fertilize European pears. In Israel, the environmental conditions for growing pears are sub-optimal for most pear cultivars. However, the Japanese pear 'Hosui' is well adapted to these conditions; moreover, it is fully compatible and flowers simultaneously with the cultivated European pears. In this work, we report on a 10-year evaluation of pollination of 'Spadona' and 'Coscia' pollinated by 'Hosui'. The experiments were conducted in three stages: hand pollination; 'bouquet insertion'; and a combined European-Asian pear orchard. The results indicate that this is a beneficial means for significantly improving fruit quality and quantity.