| | | I invested a good deal in researching and revisiting my personal time involved in PEAR pollination work in South Africa ... THIS IS MY REPORT!
Check your spam folder for our other newsletters! | | | | PEAR FARMING IS SHAPING UP! | Area Planted Pears are the third largest deciduous fruit produced in South Africa, representing 17 percent of the total area under deciduous fruit production.
The area under pear production has increased steadily over the past decade with an average growth rate of around one percent per annum to an estimated 12,913 ha or 18 million trees in MY 2020/21. (USDA: Report Number: SF2022-0036)
However, the area under pears declined in MY 2021/22 to an estimated 12,743 ha and is expected to flatten in the coming years.
Accelerating farming input costs and higher shipping rates are diminishing the profitability of pear producers which limit continuing investments in the industry. As a result, Post forecasts South Africa’s production area of pears at 12,740 ha in MY 2022/23.
Pears grow well in areas that do not experience very high temperatures. Like apples, pears are predominately grown in the Western Cape province of South Africa, which receive most of its rainfall during the winter months (May to July).
Packham's Triumph is the most popular cultivar, accounting for 33 percent of total area planted, followed by Forelle (28 percent) and William Bon Chretien (17 percent).
PEAR production in Southern Africa: The production growthPear production in South Africa will drop by nine percent to 450,000 MT in MY 2022/23, based on 3-year average yields and zero growth in the production area. Pear production MY 2021/22 is estimated at a record 495,000 MT.
Pear orchards received good rain and sufficient chill units in 2021, resulting in excellent fruit set and quality. According to Hortgro, South Africa produced 461,200 MT of pears in MY 2020/21.
The industry is mainly export orientated with more than 50 percent of pear production destined for foreign markets. Locally, less than 25 percent of total pear demand is consumed fresh, while the majority is destined for the processing industry.
The Netherlands, the destination for 21 percent of total pear exports, has surpassed Russia as South Africa’s largest market for pears in 2022.
The United Arab Emirates (9 Percent), India (8 percent) and UK (6 percent) are the other major markets for South African pears in 2022. Pear exports to India grew by 24 percent after the government of India approved in-transit cold treatment for South African apple and pear exports. South Africa’s pear exports to the United States are minimal at less than a 1,000 MT per annum.
With the signing of the food safety protocols late last year, South Africa received final approval to export pears to China. As a result, South Africa’s inaugural pear shipment arrived in China in September 2022. | | | | YOU EARN from R3920 OVER 14-20 DAYS PER HA | | The fee model for pollinating pears is recommended as follows:
R980 per hive OVER 14-20 flowering days with 4 - 6 established bee hives per hectare.
The trees flower in Spring for between a 10 to 21 day duration.
PEAR MARKET: R5,841 per ton revenue in value in 2017
With an up to 18% increase in fruit set and larger fruit weight there is usually a give an take between yield going increasing but relative to weight increase...
Does the Maths Shape UP?
Up to 18% increase in fruit set x 60 tons per hectare with a heavier average increase of 10% in fruit weight, growers can increase their pear production by up to 10 tons / ha.
This may result in additional generated value of 10 tons x R5841 per hectare which is R58,000 per hectare investing R3920...
Roughly, 50,800 pollination-standard bee hives are required currently to service this industry and growing with its estimated 12,700 hectares established in South Africa. [Hortgro]
Flowering period is up to 3-weeks depending on varietals. | | | | | Honey bees are the most important pollinators of pears [95% bee factor], but they do not find the flowers very attractive. Pear flowers produce relatively large amounts of pollen but little nectar.
A study shows an increase in the number of fruit set and for pears there was an 18 per cent increase in fruit set.
Feeding bees with a 50 per cent sucrose solution with pear flower aromas added at the start of flowering dramatically improved fruit set in pears, and increased the yield of pears in this trial. [Study source: https://apal.org.au/improving-bee-performance/]
Moreover, Sternetal. (2004,2007) showed that increasing the stocking rate of honey bee colonies just at the onset of orchard flowering is not effective for pear pollination.
Instead, they showed that introducing colonies sequentially and increasing their numbers along the flowering period improved the number of honeybees foraging on flowering pear trees and their mobility among rows, which resulted in increased fruit set.
Research suggests that Abate Fetel pear varietal is more impacted than Packham’s Triumph by honeybees, in fruit weight gain.
As for most Rosaceous species, they exhibit gametophytic self-incompatibility. Intra-cultivar self-incompatibility makes it necessary to plant inter-compatible cultivars together to ensure fertilization, and seed and fruit set (Delaplane et al., 2000; Tassinari et al., 2003). [src: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.eja.2016.04.001 1161-0301/© 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.]
Indeed, the sugar content of pear nectar is usually lower (often < 10%–15%) compared to apple (often > 10%) and to other fruit-tree species, such as quince (9.0%–47.5%), cherry (12%–65%), almond (16.0%–32.5%), and peach (often > 50%) (Faoro and Orth, 2011; Farkas et al., 2002a; Farkas and Zajácz, 2007; Jacquemart et al., 2006; Monzón et al., 2004).
Overall, the Pear Industry gains up to 8,000 kilograms per hectare more fruit set [based on the Hortgro average 50 tons/Ha figure] and generates an additional revenue... Yes...with bees!
| | | | | | Pear farming is labour-intensive in South Africa!
Pears are one of the most important deciduous fruits grown in South Africa, taking into consideration their foreign exchange earnings, employment creation and linkages with support institutions.
During the 2018/19 season, pears contributed approximately 16% (R2.9 billion) of the total gross value for deciduous fruits (R18 billion) in South Africa. Per capita consumption of deciduous and subtropical fruit in South Africa during 2019 was 24.4 kilograms per year.
This means that all of the staff involved from sorting and packing to washing, grading, packing and distribution all get more work and that means more pay.
The increase in the total value of production is attributed to increased production in major production regions. During the ten years under review, the total value of production increased from R1.4 billion in 2009/10 to R2.8 billion in 2018/19. This represents an increase of 108% in ten years. [DALRRD, 2020] As a pollination provider, you could provide pollination cover for up to 3 weeks during the standard flowering period.
Apples bloom at a similar time and could act as a rollover crop for growers and beekeepers alike.
| | What is vital to understand is the low quality nectar supply by pear flowers so it is necessary to ROTATE COLONIES halfway through with a gap of 2 days during the flowering period to avoid bees abandoning the pear crop for higher quality sources. | | |
Depending on the varietal of pear planted & using honeybees:
Crop Yield is impacted by including compatible pollenisers MAKE FRUITS BETTER SHAPED & Make more PEARS THAT ARE HEAVIER.
Who are the Top Exporters in the World?In 2024, the top exporters of Pear were:
China ($495M), Netherlands ($439M), Belgium ($302M), South Africa ($231M), and Argentina ($202M
How much does pear farming yield per hectare in South Africa?
Taking an average of 50 tons/ha for pears from about the 5th year and they produce for up to 50 years. [2022 https://hortgro.co.za}
The presence of honeybees brought in for that purpose as essential for full pollination of the crop. This also ensures that each fruit is of a large and uniform size, and properly formed, which are essential requirements for export grade.
When flowers of some varieties are inadequately fertilized (pollinated) they develop into misshapen fruits, and immature fruits with relatively few seeds, which are more inclined to be shed later than ones with many seeds (Free 1970). (FAO.org)
Notes to Consider For Pollination Providers:Growers may not receive efficient pollination services if hives are low quality (i.e., have low number of frames covered with bees, or bees with high levels of pests) and/or beehives are placed far from the field to pollinate20.
Beekeepers should rotate colonies at least once within the flowering period as nectar quality is low despite pollen is strong. Bees will be distracted by other crops and flowers.
Several previous studies have improved low rates of crop pollination using queen mandibular pheromone (QMP; Winston and Slessor, 1993). [(Pyrus pyrifolia)]
Naumann et al. (1994) investigated the effect of synthetic pheromone on the fruiting quality of pears, and Akai et al. (1995) reported that bee pheromone attractants (Bee-Scent; Scentry, Billings, MT, USA) increased fruit set in the Japanese pear cultivars ‘Hangsu’ and ‘Pungsu’.
In addition, a mixture of synthetic honeybee pheromone and highly attractive sugars has been developed and applied to watermelons, ridge gourd, and sunflowers (Ellis and Delaplane, 2009; Jayaramappa et al., 2011; Jayaramappa and Bhargava, 2015). [Journal of Apiculture 32(4) : 303~314(2017) DOI:10.17519/apiculture.2017.11.32.4.303]
Beekeepers, on the other hand, may lose many hives if pesticides are applied during flowering (i.e., colony loss by intoxication)21 and/or if flower resources within or surrounding the farm are not sufficient in terms of abundance or quality to sustain their well-being without feeding or rotation (i.e., colony loss by starvation)22.
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