Stemilt is partnering with Day's Century Growers, a family-owned pear grower and packer in British Columbia, Canada, to sublicense the new Hw624 pear, branded as Happi Pear®, to offer locally grown Happi Pears to Canadian consumers. Stemilt's director of research and development, Rob Blakey; co-owner of Day's Century Growers, Kevin Day; and Vineland Research and Innovation Centre's president and CEO, Ian Potter, share their excitement for the cross-border collaboration.
"Haley's Comet comes around more often than the launch of a new pear variety, so when something like Happi Pear comes along, it is key to join forces with growers and packers who understand the importance of quality and the needs of the local consumer," said Blakey.
© StemiltThe Day Family.
The Day family, owners of Day's Century Growers, has farmed their land, known as Byrnes Farms, for over five generations, growing pears, fresh vegetables, and sweet corn. The grower has implemented high-density plantings in the property's newer orchards to increase the volume of pears per acre and the fruit quality.
"Our family has been farming since 1892, and we represent 80-90 percent of the pears grown in BC," says Day. "We like Happi Pear because of its sweet but slightly tangy flavor profile, storage ability, and growing benefits, like its tolerance to psylla and fire blight."
© Stemilt
Happi Pear was bred by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) researchers at the breeding station at AAFC's Harrow Research and Development Centre in Ontario, Canada, through cross-pollination methods. Since then, the Vineland Research and Innovation Centre has been evaluating the Harrow pear varieties, and Hw624 hit all the marks. Happi Pear is a Harrow Sweet cross that has a sweet, bright, zesty bite with citrus notes and some pears displaying a light blush color. Happi is one of the few pear varieties that has excellent eating quality when it is green and crunchy or when yellow with a melting texture. For the grower, the variety is precocious, productive, and highly tolerant to fire blight and pear psylla. For the packer, it is easy to store and pack, with low scuffing and shrivel.
This represents the beginning of a nationwide rollout of this pear.
© Stemilt
In 2019, the Day family installed a new packing machine equipped with three-lane electronic pear grading and dumping mechanisms designed to increase daily production of pears and yield a consistent, quality pack. Likewise, Stemilt is in its second year of producing pears on its new state-of-the-art Unitec pear packing line in Wenatchee, WA, complete with double defect sorters and direct transportation between the packing line and its distribution center.
"We're excited to partner with Day's Century Growers to plant enough of this new cultivar to bring Happi Pear supply that will match the high demand for the variety throughout North America," says Blakey.
For more information:
Brianna Shales
Stemilt Growers LLC
Brianna.Shales@Stemilt.com
https://www.stemilt.com/