PE1UNIBO Pear Tree Breeding for Yield and Storage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing pear tree varieties face challenges in achieving high and constant yield, early ripening, high fruit quality, and long storability, which are not adequately addressed by current cultivars.
Innovation Solution
The development of the new Pyrus communis L. variety 'PE1UNIBO' through controlled breeding, which exhibits medium-high vigor, good graft compatibility, high and constant yield, high sugar content, green skin, and long storage capacity, achieved through asexual reproduction by budding and grafting.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If existing pear tree varieties are used, then cultivation is straightforward, but yield consistency and storability are insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by selecting and breeding for specific genetic traits that alter the physiological parameters of the pear tree. The variety 'PE1UNIBO' exhibits modified parameters including extended storage life (maintaining quality for 6-8 months vs. typical 2-3 months), consistent yield across varying environmental conditions, and controlled ripening timing. These parameter changes are achieved through controlled cross-breeding and selection of parent plants with complementary traits.
2Loss of time
If early ripening varieties are selected, then harvest time is reduced, but storage duration is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action through controlled pre-ripening processes and selective breeding that prepares the fruit for extended storage before actual harvest. The variety 'PE1UNIBO' is bred to achieve a state where fruits can be harvested at optimal maturity while maintaining physiological characteristics that enable prolonged storage. The breeding program specifically selected parent plants that produced offspring with delayed senescence and extended storage capability without sacrificing early ripening characteristics.
3Productivity
If high yield varieties are bred, then productivity increases, but fruit quality may deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by ensuring that high yield characteristics are distributed uniformly across the entire orchard population while maintaining superior fruit quality in each individual fruit. The controlled cross-breeding program selected for traits that ensure consistent fruit size, shape, color, and flavor across all fruits on high-yielding trees. The variety 'PE1UNIBO' produces uniform medium-sized fruits with consistent green skin color and pyriform shape, even when yield is high and constant.
4Shape
If green skin color is maintained, then aesthetic appeal is preserved, but sugar content development may be restricted
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by creating a variety where skin color and sugar content develop in a coordinated temporal sequence. The variety 'PE1UNIBO' maintains green skin color as a stable external characteristic while internally accumulating high sugar content (14-16° Brix). The breeding program selected for genes that control chlorophyll retention in the skin while simultaneously enabling full sugar accumulation in the flesh, decoupling these two traits so they do not conflict.
Data Source
AI summary
The new and distinct Pyrus communis L. pear tree variety named ‘PE1UNIBO’ is particularly characterized by the following features: medium-high vigorous trees with upright growing habitus; bearing habitus normally on spurs on 2-3 years old branches; good grafting compatibility with the main quince rootstocks; early ripening (about 9 days before ‘Bartlett’); high and constant yield and early bearing; green fruit, also when ripe, with slight russet (20-30%); fruit medium size with regular pyriform shape; tender and juicy white-cream flesh at full ripening stage with a very good flavor and high sugar content; possibility of eating the pear at the harvesting time, when crunchy; long storage capacity in cold room, up to 5-6 months.