The Oldest Pear Tree in the World?

Ancient perry pear tree in Mostviertel, Austria

The old pear tree pictured above was growing in the region of Mostviertel, south of the town of Linz in Austria. I took this photograph about eight years ago. At the time the tree was in very bad condition and most parts of the tree were dead. I cut some budwoods for grafting but unfortunately they did not succeed. Last year I was in the Mostviertel again and asked about the tree but the people said that it did not exist anymore.The age of the tree was estimated to be 500 years and there were documents referring to it from the time of Graf Zinsendorf  (1700-1760).  At this time the tree  was mentioned as a border tree and border trees were always big, old trees. For this reason the people in Austria decided that its age was about 500 years. The tree produced small fruits and it was a perry pear.

Walter Hartmann

The oldest, living pear tree is claimed to be the Endecott pear, grown from a pip, or brought as a seedling from England, by John Endecott the first governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and one of the Colony’s earliest settlers. He planted the tree in its present position in Danvers between 1632 and 1649. Although battered over the centuries by gales and in modern times brutally hacked about by vandals, it has always recovered and grown up again to still survive. Grafts were taken from it in 1997 and it is conserved in the pear collection at the US National Clonal Germplasm Repository at Corvallis in Oregon.

This  Austrian tree, however, is a possible rival to the Endecott as the oldest known pear tree. Are are there any more challengers?

J. M.

Plant Breeders Rights: how do you register your fruit?

I would like to register a new variety of apple, and wondered if anyone has experience of how to register plant breeders rights with DEFRA, as the information on their website appears to be both incomplete and out-of-date.

Elizabeth Moriarty

Codling Moth Larva: does it have a ‘bail out’ response?

Codling moth larva, the maggot in the apple, about to crawl out after the damage is done, but what triggers its emergence?

The ‘Grenadier’ apple had hit the ground with a thud, I stood it on my orchard seat and as I watched the larva appeared. Out of curiosity, I touched it on the nose, or at least where the nose would be if it had one, and it retreated back into its hole and didn’t come out again whilst I was watching. I wonder if the thud of the apple hitting the ground triggers a ‘bail out’ response. It would have survival value for the larva to get clear of the apple as soon as it fell and into cover for hibernation, before the fruit was eaten by foraging animals.

Barry Potter

Codling moth larva: final emergence

Finding Ancient Orchards: novel sources

A potentially useful resource for groups looking at the history of local orchards is the forthcoming publication from the British Association for Local History.  The second edition of its Directory of Internet Sites for Local Historians is due for release this month. Although the intended audience is those interested in local history, it also carries details of sites of with a national scope (eg Garden History, Abandoned Communities) and gives advice on assessing whether a particular site is reliable and trustworthy.  The first edition of this directory sold out in a matter of weeks.  The updated version (covering over 500 sites) is only available from the British Association for Local History (£4.99, inc p&p – email Dr Gill Draper on development.balh@btinternet.com) .

Another possible source of information on orchard history is the collection of aerial photographs taken of (mainly southern and eastern) England by German Luftwaffe pilots in August and September 1940.  Oliver Rackham says ’these magnificent photographs, which record almost every tree, hedge, bush, pingo, and pond in several counties, were captured by the Americans and are now in the National Archives in Washington. The fortunes of war have preserved a convincing record of what was still, in many places, a medieval landscape, much of it since damaged or effaced.’ (O. Rackham, The History of the Countryside,  J.M. Dent Ltd, 1993  p.22).  I have made a brief attempt at searching the maze which is the online US National Archives, but have not managed to find these photographs.  Others who are more persistent may have more success.

Heather Hooper

Exotic Pears – how are they made?

These beautifully crafted pears, which I saw recently, brought to mind the technique of quilling, done using strips of paper as illustrated here. In the above examples, however, the effect was created using plant material which has a softening effect rather than the sharp edges of paper, but I would like to have go at some point. I have the quilling paper, but would need to try and shape a pear as the base out of polystyrene. Maybe a Fruit Forum reader can give some more information on these very attractive, artificial pears – I would love to own one.

Linda Blenkinship

The ‘Willoughby’ apple – has anyone heard of this?

I have just come across a young apple tree labelled ‘Willoughby’ in a survey of an early 20th century orchard on the Lincolnshire/ Notttingham  border, near Retford.

Does anyone know anything about this one, please? It is not in the National Fruit Collection.

Bob Lever

Quinces- why are they not keeping?

                                                    

These quinces were picked more than a month ago and stored, but they have not kept at all well. The whole fruit when cut open shows brown markings and many of the fruits also developed the typical areas of brown rot on the outside. I don’t think it was a question of leaving the fruit too long before picking them, as this discolouration on the exterior and interior was occurring by early October.  We had a very heavy crop this year, with many very large fruit (often weighing around 14 ozs) but many also looked lumpy and distorted rather than having a classic quince shape.  The tree itself seems healthy, and a photo of the leaves (taken yesterday and posted below) shows that they look healthy too and do not seem to be suffering from quince leaf blight. This tree grows about 20 ft away from several apple trees of various types that have also cropped very heavily this year.  They have been largely bug free but have suffered a bit from brown rot.

Does anyone knew what might be causing this problem and if there is anything we can do by way of treatment? In any event, I intend to rake up and burn the leaves that fall and any fruit that remain on the ground.

Janet Wolfinden

Suffolk Orchard Survey receives Heritage Lottery Grant

 The Suffolk Traditional Orchard Group has received a handsome grant  of £45,800  from the Heritage Lottery Fund to compile an inventory of remaining orchards in their county. They intend also to carry out restoration work, plant up to 20 new orchards and will compile an account of their survey together with the history and traditions of fruit growing in Suffolk, along with advice on maintaining traditional orchards and the important habitat that fruit trees provide for a wide range of wild life. Thanks to the HLF grant, local volunteers, working alongside experienced conservation professionals, will survey as many of the surviving orchard sites as possible over a three-year period.

The group takes as its starting point early 20th-century maps, which show more than 6,000 orchards in Suffolk. Just one in six remain, according to recent records, but often only as fragments of the original, mainly on local farms, or smallholdings with a few found on large country estates. The aim is to survey at least 700 sites across 470 Suffolk parishes, which will be carried out by a force of 110 parish-based volunteers supported by a number specialists in horticulture, conservation and wildlife who will also be involved in the project.

We look forward to the publication, which will be available on-line as well as in book form. A one-day national conference on traditional orchard habitat is also planned.

Fruit Forum

More details are available on the Heritage Lottery Fund web-site

http://www.hlf.org.uk/news/Pages/Grantprovesfruitfulfororchardsurvey.aspx

Pruning a Walnut Tree – advice please?

My new garden in Suffolk has an ENORMOUS walnut tree – any advice how I can reduce it and when should I do it?

Phyllis Deer

Codlin Moth Control: advice please?

I have a family apple tree (three sorts) I have been told one is a Cox cross, and the other is Falstaf. The third could be a Bramley cross.

This year I have had a bit of codling moth damage. So what is the best defence to control the little blighters, and when do I start the battle.

Shirley Baker