The harvesting of Abate pears in the Ferrara area started on 27th August, while it started on 23rd-24th August in the Modena province. Average grades seem to be larger than last year and quality seems good, though attention must be paid to the brown marmorated stink bug and alternaria.
"We're very pleased with this year's average grades. Growers who worked well are harvesting large fruits and, even though tons per hectare might be lower towards the end of the harvesting period, gross saleable production won't be affected. Hardness measured with a penetrometer on 27th August was approx. 5.2-5.5 kg/sq cm," explained technician Alessandro Passerini.
Pears in late July
Albano Bergami, president of Organizzazione interprofessionale Pera and owner of a 30 hectare pear orchard, explained that harvesting started slightly earlier this year due to the weather. "We are pleased with the grades, which will have a positive effect on prices. We'd like to remind producers that pears must be harvested at the right ripening stage, not when they're too hard otherwise sales won't be good."
Which is what partly happened last year: preservatives must be used carefully in storage units, otherwise hard fruit won't ripen. Pears should be harvested with a hardness level not exceeding 5.5.
"Fruits not under anti-hail nets are beginning to ripen, while those under nets are still slightly behind. This year, because of the weather, alternaria risks compromising part of the production. Brown marmorated stink bugs have not created much problems in the areas I follow," added Passerini.
Davide Marconi, Apofruit technician from Vignola, reports that harvesting started on August 23rd in Modena as the hardness level was around 5. "We recommend harvesting with a level between 4.5 and 5.5 kg/sq cm. If the value exceeds that, fruits are unsuitable for consumption."