My elderly neighbour has a 4yr old Conference pear. This little tree bears
fruit each year - perhaps 13 or 14 pears. They sit and watch as the pears
all drop off when still quite small. The tree looks perfectly healthy. Any
suggestions what could be causing this.

It is quite close to another small tree (Golden Delicious) also relatively
young, which produces excellent fruits in abundance!

"kathleen syson" wrote in message
...
My elderly neighbour has a 4yr old Conference pear. This little tree
bears
fruit each year - perhaps 13 or 14 pears. They sit and watch as the pears
all drop off when still quite small. The tree looks perfectly healthy.
Any
suggestions what could be causing this.

It is quite close to another small tree (Golden Delicious) also relatively
young, which produces excellent fruits in abundance!

When does the drop occur? if the pears are still very small, i.e. about an
inch or so, try cutting into them and if they contain small maggoty things
or are in anyway black or discoloured, then the culprit is pear midge,
Conference is not normally badly effected as it flowers a little later than
some varieties.
If there are no other pears around you can break the cycle by taking off all
the pears next year and burning them before they drop. There is as far as I
know no chemical cure.
--
Charlie, gardening in Cornwall.
http://www.roselandhouse.co.uk
Holders of National Plant Collection of Clematis viticella (cvs)

"kathleen syson" wrote in message
...
My elderly neighbour has a 4yr old Conference pear. This little tree
bears
fruit each year - perhaps 13 or 14 pears. They sit and watch as the pears
all drop off when still quite small. The tree looks perfectly healthy.
Any
suggestions what could be causing this.

It is quite close to another small tree (Golden Delicious) also relatively
young, which produces excellent fruits in abundance!

Survival of the fittest!

The poorly tree needs a good top dressing and regular watering to get it
back into good condition so it can compete with its near neighbour.

--
Brian
Henry Fielding: "All Nature wears one universal grin"

"Brian Watson" wrote in message
...

"kathleen syson" wrote in message
...
My elderly neighbour has a 4yr old Conference pear. This little tree
bears
fruit each year - perhaps 13 or 14 pears. They sit and watch as the
pears
all drop off when still quite small. The tree looks perfectly healthy.
Any
suggestions what could be causing this.

It is quite close to another small tree (Golden Delicious) also
relatively
young, which produces excellent fruits in abundance!

Survival of the fittest!

The poorly tree needs a good top dressing and regular watering to get it
back into good condition so it can compete with its near neighbour.

--
Brian
Henry Fielding: "All Nature wears one universal grin"


Probably pear midge as suggested, the fruit will develop a tell-tale
'guitar'
shape then develop a black crack and fall off whe very small. I have tried
clearing the ground beneath the tree and destroying all fruit before it
drops but nothing works, except this year I wrapped one bud in fleece after
the flower had come, and this was the only pear that survived out of all of
them.
I imagine they need pollinating before the fleece goes on, but it's
remarkably tedious way of getting pears.

Andy.