Falstaff pears are appealing, taste good and yet not many people know about them. Thanks to an invitation from Falstaff's "father" Lorenzo Rivalta, Freshplaza visited the orchard of a producer in Ravenna. In addition to 12 hectares of pears, owner Alberto Caroli also grows apples, apricots, peaches and asparagus. He has been cultivating Falstaff pears for 9 years, even before it became a club pear owned by the New Plant consortium.
Lorenzo Rivalta and Alberto Caroli
"Falstaff can give you a lot of satisfaction but it must be cultivated professionally. It has a peculiar red skin and a crunchy flesh, which combines a high sugar level with an acidic taste. It must be harvested at the right time otherwise it does not taste good and it is suitable for cold storage."
Play to watch a video:
"Productivity is high and grades are big, but pruning must be carried out carefully, as trees cannot be pruned like, let's say, an Abate tree. They must be left to grow, especially as fruits are only generated on 2 to 3 year old branches."
The producer sells his fruit to the Cesena wholesale market. He also prepares the pears in single-layer crates to be sold in Northern Italy and down to Umbria. "The variety is still relatively unknown, though, and buyers call it Red Williams or Red Abate, so there is a need for a proper marketing campaign."
"To improve its colour, sometimes I irrigate above the foliage, though most of the time I irrigate under it. I do not use drip irrigation and I do not over-fertilise because the soil does not need it."
The Falstaff variety, protected by Forlì's Crea at a community level, was assigned exclusively to Newplant, the consortium created by Apo Conerpo, Apofruit and Orogel Fresco for research on new fruit varieties.
Anyone can grow Falstaff pears, but they must be sold exclusively by members of Copero srl, the consortium created for its management and promotion.