DZ
DefZone.Net

Kien thuc cong nghe & giai tri

  1. Home
  2. Wiki
Seckel pear
GenusPyrus
SpeciesPyrus communis
Hybrid parentagewild seedling
CultivarSeckel
OriginPennsylvania

The Seckel pear (or sugar pear) is a small, very sweet cultivar of pear believed to have originated in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Cultivar history

[edit]
1921 illustration of the fruit

The Seckel is said to be named after the Pennsylvania farmer who first introduced it in the late 18th century.[1] It was one of the varieties planted at Monticello by Thomas Jefferson, who said it "exceeded anything I have tasted since I left France, and equalled any pear I had seen there." His high regard for the Seckel was shared by the eminent horticulturalist A. J. Downing, who rated its flavor above even European pear varieties.[2]

Tree characteristics

[edit]

The Seckel pear tree is relatively small, reaching a height of 15-20 feet and width of about 10 feet.[3] It has light grey bark and resembles an apple tree.[4] Its white flowers bloom in mid-Spring.[3] The tree is cold-hardy, frost-resistant, and resistant to fire blight.[4]

Fruit characteristics

[edit]

The Seckel is a winter pear, harvested in the fall, which can be stored for about 5 months. The fruit is very sweet and soft ("melting" or "buttery" flesh[5]), with a coarser grain than most European varieties.[6] Compared to most other pears, they are very small, less than 3" in length and width.[4]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ McManus, Jeanne, "Seckel Pears", The Washington Post
  2. ^ "Seckel Pear"
  3. ^ a b Seckel Pear at Conservation Garden Park
  4. ^ a b c Pyrus Communis Seckel at NC State Extension
  5. ^ Hedrick, U.P.; Howe, G. H.; Taylor, O. M.; Francis, E. H.; Tukey, H. B. (1921), The Pears of New York, Reports of the New York Agricultural Experiment Station, Albany, New York: J.B. Lyon Company, pp. 216–217
  6. ^ WSU Tree Fruit: Seckel ("Sugar Pear"), Washington State University