ROGUE VALLEY PEARS
Medford, Oregon
History
The first tree fruits (apples, pears, cherries, peaches, prunes and walnuts) were brought across the
plains in covered wagons to Ashland and grown from seeds by the Billings family in the mid 1800’s.
The planting of fruit trees saw a rapid expansion from small scattered home orchards to the first
commercial orchard (Eden Valley) that was planted in 1885 by J. H. Stewart and J. D. Whitman.
Apples enjoyed a tremendous boom during the late 1800’s and early 1900’s peaking at about 400
growers with about 10,000 acres in 1910. By 1930 over 94% of the apple acreage had been removed
and pears became the number one orchard crop of the Rogue Valley. The change from apples to pears
was due primarlly to the fact that our warm days, cool nights and heavy clay soils are more suited to
growing pears than apples.
The Rogue Valley early on had a corner on pear production, growing over 24 varieties at its peak. It
was noted in the historic records that Medford set quality standards in packing pears and was
recognized for that reason by the buyers. The Rogue Valley was the first and largest red pear growing
region in the Pacific Northwest in the 1970’s, which saw returns triple over green varities.
In addition, the Rogue Valley set the standard for the quality of Bosc and Comice pears, which have
become the two main varieties grown today. The district capitalized on fresh pears which returned the
most for their investment, and also found an outlet for our cull pears by establishing Sabroso Co.,
which made a juice concentrate that was shipped all over the world, gaining the Governor’s award in
1982 as the state’s Outstanding International Marketing Company.
In 1914, Harry and David Rosenberg established Harry and David, a company that specializes in the
Comice pear for which there was a good export market to the grand hotels and restaurants of Europe.
Harry and David named their luxurious pears "Royal Riviera" to set them apart from varieties grown
elsewhere. Today Harry and David are known as America's premier direct marketer of fruit, food gifts
and as one of the nation's oldest catalog mail order companies. In addition, they are the largest
employer in the Rogue Valley.
Over the years there have been several events in fruit production in the Pacific Northwest and
California that have caused the Rogue Valley pear industry to lose market share and acreage. The first
was the Alar scare on apples in 1989, which caused a lot of apple acreage to be removed in
Washington state, to be replaced largely by pears . Similarly, the over-planting and over-production of
apples that occured in about 1999 led to further pear planting. Further impact came from urban
encroachment and expansion of our cities into farm lands in the Rogue Valley itself.
As apple acrage was removed, orchardists in Washington, Oregon and California looked to other
commodites that were still providing a good return in the marketplace. First they planted red and Bosc
pears which were Southern Oregon’s niche in the pear market and later they branched out into growing
winegrapes, which were popular across the nation. As the cities in the region expanded with more and
more people moving into the area after retirement, many orchards on the city borders were removed
and sold to build new houses.
Today, while the pear acreage in Southern Oregon has been reduced, the production has not shrunk to
the same extent. This is due to the planting of high density orchards that replaced less productive ones.
Pears are still the largest agricultural commodity, bringing in 29-35 million dollars annually. That
figure does not include pears sold from the Harry & David gift catalog. In a study conducted by
Oregon State University and the Wasington Tree Fruit Industry in 2001, the Jackson County pear
industry accounts for about 10% of the nation’s total production of pears and 11% of the total
economic activity of the county.
The chart below compares the pear industry of the 1930’s with the present.
Value of Pear Crop
Number of Growers
Total Acres
Typical Size
Total Production
Production per Acre
Processed
Fresh Market
Trees per Acre
Packing Companies
Varieties Grown
Main Varieties in
Order of importance
Rogue Valley Pear Industry
1930’s
$ 3,000,000
400
11,700
1-325 acres
43,537 tons
3.7 tons
14%
86%
65-70
27
8-10
Bartlett
D’Anjou
Bosc
Comice
Winter Nelis
Other
* Does not include the value of Harry & David gift pears
1992
$38,827,000
32
9200
5-2500 acres
67,798 tons
11 tons
35%
65%
300-1400
9
24+
2007
*$ 31,281,000
15
6,000
5-2000 acres
*66,175 tons
14 tons
12%
88%
300-1200
4
24+
Bosc
Green Bartlett
Comice
D’Anjou
Seckel
Red Pears
Bosc
Comice
Green Bartlett
Red Anjou
D’Anjou
Other
Climate
The Rogue Valley (latitude 42o 22’ N/longitude 122o 52’ W) is approximately 1400 feet above sea
level, and is protected by surrounding mountains. The area is favored with a mild climate, summer
temperatures average a low of 50o F and a high of 83o F. Summer temperatures can reach as high as
115o F and drop by as much as 50o degrees at night. On average, the valley receives 18 inches of
rainfall with most occurring from October to May.
Soils
There are over 80 soil types mapped in the Rogue Valley. A number are high in clay content and are
characterized by low water infiltration rates and poor internal drainage. Most of these soils are on the
east side of the valley where many of the oldest pear orchards are located. They shrink and swell in
drying and wetting cycles and as a group are classed as Vertisols.
Soils on the west side of the valley include loams, silt loams, clay loams and lighter textured soils of
granite origin. Valued for their production of a wide range of field, vegetable, and specialty seed
crops, some of the newer orchards are found on these soils.
Irrigation
Early orchards in the Rogue Valley were dry land farmed. Today there are three main irrigation
companies: Medford, Talent and Rogue River serving over 38,000 acres. In order to deliver water to
the valley there are 7 mountain storage lakes and over 650 miles of canals. Early irrigated orchards
used flood irrigation, but today over 95% of the orchards are sprinkler irrigated.
Bloom/Harvest
Pear bloom typically starts in the first week of April and lasts two to three weeks, depending on the
season. Harvest for early varieties of pear begins in the first week of August with winter pear harvest
beginning a month later.
Frost Protection
Frost season starts about mid-March (just prior to bloom) and lasts until mid-May. Pears are protected
by one of several frost protection systems: wind machines in combination with heaters or sprinklers
(76%), and sprinklers (24%). On average the valley has 18-20 nights of scattered heating (wind
machines alone) and 5-10 nights of general heating where supplemental heating is needed.
Pest Management
Over 90% of Rogue Valley orchards have some form of Integrated Pest Management program to
monitor pests. Major insect pests found in the valley are: codling moth, pear psylla, twospotted and
yellow mites, pear rust mite, and San Jose scale.
Fire blight and pear scab diseases can occur during the spring. Several postharvest diseases also affect
pears during cold storage. Pears are stored at 29-31 oF, often in an atmosphere of reduced oxygen and
elevated CO2.
Fruit Growers’ League
In 1913 a severe fire blight epidemic destroyed a large acreage of pears in the Rogue Valley. In
response to this disease outbreak, Jackson County and fruit growers appointed inspectors to assist
growers in an eradication program. The organization of growers that was formed at that time is now
known as the Fruit Growers’ League of Jackson County.
Oregon State University
With the development of the Rogue Valley as a major apple and pear production area came the
establishment of Oregon State University’s Southern Oregon Experiment Station in 1911 and the
Extension Service office in 1914 . The name of the experiment station was changed in 1994 to the
Southern Oregon Research and Extension Center to include the OSU Extension Service staff which
were moved to that location. Today the OSU Southern Oregon Research and Extension Center is
located west of Medford and houses two research scientists working in Entomology, Plant Pathology
and Horticulture, ten Extension agents, and 10-14 support staff.