Pear Chemical Thinning

Like apple, chemical thinning in pear is intended to reduce the current season’s crop load in pursuit of three fundamental goals: 1) inhibit fruit set to minimize green fruitlet hand thinning; 2) improve size and quality of surviving fruit; and 3) promote return bloom to encourage annual cropping. While many pear varieties largely self-regulate their crops without chemical intervention, well-managed chemical and hand thinning programs can increase the long term profitability of some varieties including Bartlett. Some pear blocks can struggle to set commercially adequate levels of fruit and it may be advisable to clearly assess pear set before applying chemical thinners, especially when conditions have been cool and/or wet during bloom.