E. Backyard considerations . I have seen very old, unattended trees in backyards and old farmsteads produce very well in this region. Pyrus calleryana is used as a rootstock in the southeast due to its high resistance to blight, but trees can become quite large. The dwarfing quince is too susceptible to blight to be used in the southeast. Training in the first and second years is critical with pears, more so than with apples.
Pears have a strong tendency to grow straight up and produce weak scaffolds.
Train trees to a central leader, and use limb spreaders to position scaffold for the first 2 years. Unlike apple, late season fungal problems are minor in pear, so all the spraying should be done by late April. Thin pears to 1 per spur by hand after bloom. Harvest, Post-harvest handling A. Maturity. Asian pears however, are similar to apples, and are harvested closer to physiological ripeness, and placed in cold storage.