A Conference pear is a variety of pear. It is an autumn cultivar (cultivated variety) of the European pear (''Pyrus communis''). This variety of pear was developed in Britain by Thomas Francis Rivers from his Rivers Nursery in

Sawbridgeworth Sawbridgeworth is a town and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England, close to the border with Essex. It is east of Hertford and north of Epping. It is the northernmost part of the Greater London Built-up Area. History Prior to the Norman ...

, Hertfordshire. It owes its name to the fact that it won first prize at the National British Pear Conference in London in 1885.

Description

A medium-sized pear with an elongated bottle shape, the 'Conference' pear is similar in appearance to the ' Bosc pear'. A table pear, it is suitable for fresh-cut processing. The fruit skin is thick greenish-brown, becoming pale yellow when ripe. The flesh is white, but turns pale yellow when the pear is ripe. The texture is very fine and soft, and the flavour is sweet. The brown part of the skin is called russet or russetting; it is more or less apparent depending on weather conditions.

Cultivation and production

The 'Conference' pear adapts to a variety of conditions, and is widely grown in Europe. It thrives on land that is sunny, rich and not too chalky. In France, the production areas of this variety are mostly in the north ( Loire, North Picardy) and the Alps (

Savoie Savoie (; Arpitan: ''Savouè'' or ''Savouè-d'Avâl''; English: ''Savoy'' ) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, Southeastern France. Located in the French Alps, its prefecture is Chambéry. In 2019, Savoie had a population o ...

and the little Southern Alps). It is grown commercially in many areas of the United Kingdom. Production will be enhanced by the nearby presence of pollinating varieties such as the Williams pear. It is a particularly resistant fruit, especially against

scab Scab may refer to: Biology * Scab, a hard coating on the skin formed during the wound healing reconstruction phase * scAb, single-chain antibody fragment Infections and infestations * Apple scab, an apple tree (genus ''Malus'') fungal disease c ...

. The Conference pear can be eaten until January if kept cool in a refrigerator or cellar ventilated. There is strong sales competition in Europe from neighbouring countries (in order: Netherlands, Belgium, Spain and Italy). The flavour of 'Conference' pears grown in

, was recognized in 1996 by a PGI (a

Protected Geographical Indication Three European Union schemes of geographical indications and traditional specialties, known as protected designation of origin (PDO), protected geographical indication (PGI), and traditional specialities guaranteed (TSG), promote and protect nam ...

) in the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been ...

, and 2012 it was the only PGI obtained by a pear in France.

References

Royal Horticultural Society - Pear Conference *
Agreste
- Ministère de l'agriculture Information sur la production en France *
INAO
- PGI/IGP SAVOIE. {{Pyrus Pear cultivars