A Canadian-developed pear is now an option for fruit buyers.
The variety, named Cold Snap, is marketed and sold by Vineland Growers Co-op out of Ontario.
Director of operations Dave Lepp said the co-op has worked on pear varieties for years, but this was the first selection to be named.
Lepp said the variety received top marks for taste/flavour, appearance and shelf life.
“One of the things that helped us get through to the top selection was the fact that we are able to distribute coast to coast because of the size of our operation,” said Lepp.
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The co-op was particularly attrac-ted to the variety because of its tolerance to fire blight, a devastating disease in the major pear varieties that are typically grown, such as Bartlett and Bosch.
“Fire blight has, in the last few years, just knocked out so many trees that the growers no longer will be planting those varieties because they are susceptible,” said Lepp.
The new variety is also attractive because of its later picking date and storage ability.
The pear is not edible when picked. Instead, it needs to be stored for at least a month before it is ready for the shelf.
Cold Snap is marketed from late October to March, which makes it a good fit with the Canadian Bartlett and Bosch varieties, which are done by the end of November.
That means it will be the lone Canadian pear on the market during winter.
Lepp said it’s possible that marketing can be extended past March in the future.
“You can put it into regular cold storage for the months of November and December, but if you want to get into January, February, and/March, you’re going to need controlled atmosphere storage.”
The co-op has groves in Ontario, Nova Scotia and Quebec and is now considering interest in British Columbia.
