A brief history of pears
Pears have come a long way in the 25–65 million years since their evolution in the mountains of western China. By Anna Mouton. Pears are woody trees and shrubs in the genus Pyrus. No one is sure how many Pyrus…
A European perspective on post-harvest diseases in pome fruit. Q+A with Dr Marcel Wenneker
Dr Marcel Wenneker, senior crop-protection researcher at Wageningen University and Research in the Netherlands, shares his insights. By Anna Mouton. Q: What is the status of post-harvest diseases in pome fruit in the Netherlands? A: Post-harvest diseases are a minor…
A model of fruit microstructure
Researchers are using advanced medical technologies to unravel the relationship between storage disorders and internal structure in pome fruit. By Anna Mouton. Commercial controlled-atmosphere storage has been around for nearly a century and helped fresh apples become a year-round supermarket…
A South African perspective on chemical thinners
Fresh Quarterly interviews a deciduous fruit expert. By Wiehann Steyn. Professor Karen Theron has been with the Department of Horticultural Science at Stellenbosch University since 1985. She currently holds the Chair in Applied Preharvest Deciduous Fruit Research. For the past…
All about pears
The highlights of the panel discussion about the South African pear industry’s status and prospects. By Anna Mouton. The panel covered topics ranging from rootstocks to netting. The edited transcript below summarises the main points, and the entire session can…
An international perspective on pear production
Prof. Stefano Musacchi has been working on pears for more than three decades. He started his career at the University of Bologna and currently holds the Endowed Chair in Tree-fruit Physiology and Management at Washington State University. He also chairs…
An interview with Christo Strydom
Christo Strydom of specialist pear-packhouse Wolfpack is unusual in the South African deciduous-fruit industry because he focuses mainly on pears. He spoke to Fresh Quarterly about the challenges and opportunities facing our industry. By Anna Mouton. Q. You started in…
Best practices to prevent superficial scald
The following applies to all scald-susceptible fruit. Preharvest risk factors Hot and dry weather in the weeks before harvest. Increased risk could be the result of drought stress. Both increase ethylene and α-farnesene — important precursors of superficial-scald promoting compounds…
Beware of this tiny beetle
The invasive polyphagous shot-hole borer threatens fruit trees. By Engela Duvenage. Polyphagous shot-hole borers began killing trees in gardens and forests nationwide in the past five years. Prof. Francois Roets of the Department of Conservation Ecology and Entomology at Stellenbosch…
Blushed pear research in Australia
Dr Ian Goodwin is the research leader for crop physiology at the Agriculture Victoria SmartFarm in Tatura. Fresh Quarterly spoke with him about their work on blushed pears. By Anna Mouton. Q. How important are blushed cultivars to the Australian…