Oregon
Pears
AT A G L A N C E
Pear Benefits
Economic, Social, Environmental
N
athaniel Coe was one of the first to plant pear and other fruit trees in
the Hood River Valley, in the 1850s. Apple orchards flourished until a
killing freeze in 1919. Many farmers replaced their apple orchards with
pears. The first pears in the Rogue Valley were grown by the Billings family in
the mid-1800s. Fruit tree planting expanded rapidly from small home orchards
to Eden Valley, the first commercial orchard in Oregon, established in Jackson
County, in 1885, by J. H. Stewart and J. D. Whitman.
Oregon’s commercially important winter pears are Anjou, Red Anjou, Bosc,
Comice, Forelle, and Seckel. Bartlett is the most important summer pear.
Neither winter nor summer pears ripen to eating quality on the tree; they
require cold storage after picking (4 to 8 weeks for winter pears and 2 weeks
for Bartletts).
Pears are stored in regular or controlled atmosphere and marketed
over an extended period. Winter pears are sold through fresh-market
outlets. About half of the Bartlett crop is processed; the rest is sold
through fresh-market and direct-marketing outlets. Culled pears
of every variety go into purée and juice products.
The United States exports about one-third of all domestically produced pears, while about one-third of the pears
consumed in the United States each year are imported. This
exchange is driven by the year-round demand for fresh fruit
and the complementary production cycles in the northern
and southern hemispheres.
Oregon Pears
Oregon Pears (All Types and Varieties)
Working with growers and other agencies, Oregon State University
research and educational outreach have boosted pear production in these
ways:
n Developed and adopted environmentally safe pest-control techniques. For
example, organophosphate use in pear production was reduced by 75%
over a 10-year period. $ ❦ 
n “Branded” Oregon tree fruits through integrated fruit production, attracting
Family farms
350
Oregon’s national ranking
#3
Health and nutrition benefits:
High in fiber and vitamin C; free of fat, cholesterol, and sodium
Notes
Economic data in this section from the 2008 Census of Agriculture. http://www.agcensus.
usda.gov and http://oain.oregonstate.edu/
domestic and export markets highly sensitive to pesticide residues. $ ❦ 
n Reduced pesticide residues in pear products, which can be a significant
portion of the diets of infants and children. ❦ 
n Improved water and fertilizer delivery to trees, saving as much as 73% on
irrigation water and as much as 20% on nitrogen fertilizer. Ground and
surface water quality, and in-stream flows are protected and enhanced. $ ❦
Oregon Winter Pears
Acres harvested
Tons produced
Value of sales
Share of U.S. domestic winter pear production 13,250
174,850
$73.7 million
35%
n Improved pear rootstocks to gain earlier fruiting. Growers now are able
to respond more rapidly to market demands for new varieties, and they
recover orchard investment costs in fewer years. $
n Improved handling and storage of pears to guard fruit quality and to supply
Farm Receipts
the market over a longer period, avoiding the low prices associated with
>$45.0 million
market gluts. $ 
$25.0–30.0 million
Benefits key
$ Economic benefit
❦ Environmental benefit
Social benefit
<$1.5 million
Oregon Summer (Bartlett) Pears
Acres harvested 4,280
Tons produced 58,300
Value of sales
$20.4 million
Share of U.S. domestic summer pear production 14%
Farm Receipts
>$16.0 million
$2.0–3.0 million
Produced by the Department of Horticulture and Extension Service, Oregon State University.
© 2009 Oregon State University. Extension work is a cooperative program of Oregon State University, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and Oregon counties. Oregon State University Extension Service offers educational programs,
activities, and materials without discrimination based on age, color, disability, gender identity or expression, marital
status, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or veteran’s status. Oregon State University Extension
Service is an Equal Opportunity Employer. EM 8981 F
<$500,000