Organic Pears and Pears produced through an integrated pest control

Organic farming means developing a mode of production of fresh vegetables and fruits paying maximum respect to the natural resources, in order to conserve the environment and protect the consumers’ health.
Like all fruit and vegetable varieties that are traded the most, even pears are now evaluated from an organic point of view, in accordance with the possible parasite control done through available phytosanitary products; nowadays, more attention is given to the organic farming and with this to the production of organic pears, as it produces fresh and high quality fruits that come from a farming that aims at prevention and acts especially to improve soil fertility, with the purpose to control, reduce or eliminate cultivation problems. Nowadays there are more and more producers of organic pears, importers of organic pears, exporters of organic pears, wholesalers of organic pears and retailers of organic pears, who embraced methods and values of organic farming.
Fruit and vegetable products coming from organic farming are produced using production methods that allow to utilize only substances of natural origin. The companies producing organic pears follow this norm during the fertilization period of the plant.
There are some substances needed by this fresh organic product for its production, such as for example nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. In order to have these substances available when the plant of pears needs them, for example, it is necessary to know the mineralization time of nitrogen substances of organic origin that can be used as fertilizer, or to use raw salt or potassium sulphate if the plant lacks potassium, while manure (organic fertilizer obtained by the industrial recycling of the defecations of sheep farms) if the soil lacks of phosphorus.

It is an extremely important step for the consumer, as it outlines the quality of the process and of all the entities involved in the production of pears, guaranteed by the label of the organic fruit and vegetable product on the international market, with fruit and vegetable companies for the production of certified pears according to the EU norms of organic farming, to the European Regulation 2092/91, later annulled with the new CE 834/2007, created to protect the environment. The label, is thus a “certification” of valid, healthy and higher quality fruit and vegetable products.
The pear is a variety of fruit and vegetable product very suitable to the methods used in organic farming, above all for the early varieties, while for late varieties the control on the prevention of parasite attacks is more difficult.
Very important characteristics of the soil in the organic farming and in pears produced through an integrated pest control are those that determine also the choice of the rootstock.

Among the varieties of pears suitable to organic farming, the most known are:

• ABATE FETEL: variety of pears native to France in the XIX century. The fruit is large (weighing even more than 250 gr.), elongated, flask-shaped, with a green-yellowish skin blushed with red on the part exposed to sunlight and partially rusty. The flesh of this fresh fruit is white, gritty, slightly flavoured, very juicy, sugary and extremely aromatic and palatable. This variety of pear is very resistant and keeps well in the refrigerator until the first days of January. In Italy, this rare variety of pear is produced only in the region of Emilia, where it received the P.G.I. recognition.

• CARMEN: variety of pears with medium-large fruits (about 190 gr.), elongated and slanting at the top. The skin of this pear is yellow-green blushed with red on the 20-30% of the surface, with large and evident lenticels. The flesh of the pear is medium fine, flavoured and juicy. It is harvested at the end of July and the fruits of this variety of pears are quite resistant to handling and transports; it keeps well if stored in the refrigerator.

• CONFERENCE: fall variety of pears native to England at the end of the Nineteenth century. It is a variety of pear, with medium fruits, conical-elongated with a long, thin and curved petiole. This fresh fruit has a green-yellow skin, partially rusty, while the flesh is fine, ivory-white, very juicy, little acidic, sweet and nicely flavoured. This variety of pears is very appreciated and thus is very widespread in the fruit and vegetable market of the EU countries, apart from being a pear that can keep until December/January if harvested at the beginning of the ripening period and stored in the refrigerator.

• KAISER (also called BUTIRRA, BOSC OR ALEXANDER): old fall variety of pears native to France and nowadays very widespread and traded in several EU countries. It is a variety of pears with large, elongated fruits with a long and curved petiole. The skin is tobacco brown with many lenticels and completely rusty. The flesh of this pear is white-yellowish, slightly gritty, flavoured, sweet-acidic and juicy. The fruits of this varieties of pears are harvested during the second decade of September and can be kept until December, if stored in the refrigerator.

• SANTA MARIA: typical summer variety of pears, with medium-large fruits; it is harvested from mid-July to the end of October. The skin is smooth with small lenticels, yellow but blushed with red after the exposure to sunlight. The flesh of this pear is white, juicy, fine and firm; the taste is flavoured and sweet. The typical feature of this variety of pears is its high production level and early ripening.

• WILLIAM (or BARTLETT): variety of pears selected in England at the end of the eighteenth century. It is roundish, with a light green very thin skin and a white, juicy, sweet flesh with a flavour of Muscat. It is the most produced and exported type of fresh fruit in Italy and it is available on the fruit and vegetable market from August until October/November. As well as consumed as table fruit, this variety of pear is largely used in the industry for the production of juices and syrups.