pear harvest sees weather-related challenges

By Trisha Walker

​ In January, ladders began to pop up in county orchards, marking the start of another season’s work.
And another season’s speculation for pear growers.
Hood River County orchardists have had to contend with what might be described as unusual weather conditions the past two years, affecting fruit harvest in different ways. The size, along with fruit quality and finish, can all be affected by conditions that are too hot or too cold, said Ed Weathers, president and sales manager of Duckwall Fruit Company.
“Weather has played a big factor in the last number of years,” he said.
In 2022, the valley saw significant snow — anywhere from a foot to 18 inches, depending on location — mid-bloom, followed by unusually wet and cold conditions. In 2023, the valley had a cold spring that pushed bloom back about two weeks. “And then, as soon as we approached bloom, it got very hot,” Weathers said. The results were the same: Lower overall crop volume.
Hood River County’s pear crop mainly consists of three varieties: Bartlett, Bosc and Anjou. While Bartletts and Boscs were harvested last year at or above volume despite being smaller in size, Anjous — the county’s largest variety — were larger in size but harvested at a lower volume. Fruit quality was not affected.
The smaller size and volume are being attributed to weather during bloom. The year’s earliest pear varieties — at Duckwall, green Bartletts and red Starkrimsons — saw the length of time between bloom and harvest shrink to 103 days in 2023, compared to 118 days in 2022. Typically, bloom to harvest spans between 120-125 days for pears, Weathers said.
“The growing season from bloom to harvest was unusually short [in 2023],” he said. “There was smaller fruit size than ideal on Bartlett and Bosc, likely due in part to both a heavy crop on the trees and a shorter growing season. Anjou fruit size ended up being large, most likely due to a very light crop on the tree.”
Which leads us back to 2024 — waiting to see if it will be too hot, too cold, or just right for this year’s pear crop.