Studies on the vegetative, floral and bearing behaviour of hard pear strains (Pyrus pyrifolia)

The present studies were conducted to evaluate the hard pear strains with respect to vegetative, flowering and fruiting characteristics during the years 2004 to 06. The strain I, II, III, IV and X were vigorous, whereas strains VII, VIII and XI were found to be semi vigorous in respect to tree spread and volume. The leaf emergence was started late (last week of February to 1^st week of March) in 2005 as compared to 2006 (l^st week of February to Last week of February) in all the strains. The flowering duration ranged from 14 to 18, 8 to 13 and 13 to 20 days in 2004, 2005 and 2006, respectively. The strains I to IX did not show off-season leaf emergence and flowering as compared to strains X and XI. The leaf area was maximum (61.34 cm²) in strain VI as compared to other strains. The highest number of flowers per metre (76.84) was observed in strain II and minimum (34.11) in strain VIII. Similarly, the number of fruits per metre (28.20) was maximum in strain II and minimum in strain X (3.55). The number of fruits harvested were highest in strain II (1340.58), followed by strain I (1296.58), strain IX (1139.08), strain VI (1067.92) and strain V (916.25). Average fruit weight ranged from 123.72 g to 181.78 g in different strains. The highest fruit yield was recorded in strain II. On the basis of these characters, the strains I and II were found to be promising under Punjab conditions.