Study of vegetative, pomological characters and yield of some imported pear cultivars in Urmia climatic conditions

Selection and evaluation of superior cultivars is one of the main programs for fruit trees breeding, including pear trees. The research was conducted to study growth and yield of 11 imported pear cultivars Abate Fetel, Beurre Hardy, Doyenne du Comice, Mellina, Nart, Conference, Beurre Bosc, Packham's Triumph, William, Red Bartlett, General Leclerc as well as Shah Miveh and Sardrodi Iranian cultivars as control in Urmia climatic conditions for eight years (2008 to 2015). Combined analysis of variance revealed significant difference (P≤0.01) among cultivars for vegetative characters including annual growth, tree height, trunk diameter and tree canopy and also fruit characters of length, diameter, weight, firmness, TSS, pH and titrable acids, number of fruits per tree, index of yield per tree and yield per unit trunk cross-sectional area (TCSA). The lowest vegetative growth was observed at Red Bartlett cultivar. The lowest mean yield per tree for three years with 2.72 kg and the highest with 7.66 kg were recorded in Shah Miveh and Mellina cultivars respectively. The highest index of yield per unit trunk cross-sectional area was observed in Mellina cultivar. Whereas, Abate Fetel, Packham's Triumph, Doyenne du Comice and Mellina cultivars had advantage than other cultivars due to good marketing and a high yield, so Doyenne du Comice and Packham's Triumph cultivars can be used as mid ripening and Abate Fetel and Mellina cultivars as relatively late ripening for the development of pear culture  in Urmia and similar regions.