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PROBLEMS

The main thing you have to worry about with pear trees is fire blight, and it may be hard to avoid in the healthiest of trees. Fire blight derives its name from the fact that the affected parts look as if someone had gone over them with a blowtorch while you weren't looking. It can strike all parts of the tree from flowers to main trunk, but not at the same time. This is your key to keeping pear production going. Trim off any blighted area as soon as you see it. Branches should be removed with a foot of healthy wood behind them. Don't handle the affected part and then the rest of the tree . . . would you blow your nose in someone else's old handkerchief? Keep all infected trimmings away from the tree trunk while you work, and burn them in a hot fire away from the orchard. The worst blight season is from bloom till fruit . . . this is the time to keep a sharp lookout for the culprit.

HARVESTING

Some pears must be harvested before they are ripe or they turn gravelly. The only way to find out if your variety falls into this category is to pick some when they are mature in size but just beginning to turn color, letting the others ripen on the tree. Compare quality. Next year you'll know. Pears picked just before the first blush of color can be cold-stored for two to three months or more.

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