Pears (Pyrus communis) are perennial tree fruits suitable for Zones 4-9, with main varieties Bartlett and Bosc grown commercially. Trees require moderate chill hours and are susceptible to fire blight; high-density planting improves early yields per university extension research.
Crop Snowflake Score
/acre
/acre
/acre
years
Overview
Growing Season
- Plant
- Early spring (dormant) – Early spring (dormant)
- Harvest
- Late August - October (variety dependent) – Late August - October (variety dependent)
- Frost-free days
- 150+
Yield
- Typical yield
- 168 bushels/acre
- Productive lifespan
- 20 years
- Years to full prod.
- 7
- Labor
- 69 hrs/acre
Market Fit
Active Regional Buyers
1 active buyer on record purchasing this crop.
Price Trend Stable/Up
3-year price trend recorded as "stable".
Supply Below Demand
2 of 6 documented channels rate viability "strong". Sold into regional rather than national markets, fruit supply here generally trails that demand.
Multiple Buyer Channels
6 of 6 documented market channels rate viable or better (farmers_market, direct_to_consumer, restaurant, csa). Multiple independent routes to market.
Value-Added Potential
4 viable direct-market channels (farmers_market, direct_to_consumer, restaurant, csa). Supports value-added and margin capture beyond wholesale.
Market Growth Projected
Specialty fruit segment; consumer demand for regionally grown specialty produce has been expanding.
Market Channels
Climate Fit
Hardiness Zone Match
Crop tolerates zones 4-9; region spans 5-6. Overlaps.
GDD Sufficient
Crop GDD minimum not recorded. Region accumulates 2500+ GDD (base 50F), sufficient for most temperate crops.
Precipitation Compatible
Crop water requirement not recorded. Region is humid continental with reliable growing-season rainfall; irrigation available as supplement.
Frost-Free Season OK
Crop needs 150 frost-free days; region provides ~180. Sufficient.
Chill Hours Met
Perennial. Region's zone 5-6 winters deliver well over 1,000 chill hours, ample for temperate perennials.
Climate Trend Favorable
Crop spans 6 hardiness zones (4-9). Wide adaptive range buffers against warming trend.
Fit by region
The farm matcher, run on each region's cited climate normals. Soil and site are not included here; add your own on the match page.
Limited by frost-free season, high-severity risks. 6 criteria evaluated, 1 not yet researched; 100% cited.
Limited by high-severity risks. 6 criteria evaluated, 1 not yet researched; 100% cited.
Limited by high-severity risks. 6 criteria evaluated, 1 not yet researched; 100% cited.
Climate envelope & site
What the farm matcher compares your conditions against.
Climate envelope
- Hardiness zone
- 4–8
- Frost-free season
- 150+ days
- Heat (GDD base 50°F)
- not yet recorded
- Winter chill
- 600–1,000 hours
- Rainfall
- 23.6–82.7 in/yr
Below the minimum, irrigation is needed; above the maximum the crop fails.
- Soil pH target
- 5.9–6.5
Extension lime target; within 1.0 of it is correctable.
Site & structure
- Spring frost at bloom
- high sensitivity
- Needs cold-air drainage
- yes — avoid frost pockets
- Shade tolerance
- none — full sun
- Mature height
- not yet recorded
- Rooting depth
- not yet recorded
- Wind exposure tolerance
- not yet recorded
- Workable slope
- not yet recorded
Height, rooting depth and shade tolerance are the inputs an alley or guild layout needs.
Soil Compatibility
Soil Texture
Drainage
Infrastructure Fit
Equipment Compatible
6 of 13 documented equipment items are crop-specific (46%) against a catalog median of 29%. Above-median share of purpose-built equipment, implying real capital outlay.
Storage Available
2 documented storage routes; at least one (Regular cold storage) is reachable with conventional on-farm or third-party facilities.
Irrigation Compatible
Water requirement not recorded; standard drip or overhead irrigation assumed adequate.
Field Layout Suitable
Suited to the small-to-mid-size fragmented parcels typical of the region.
Labor Availability
69 labor hr/ac vs catalog 75th percentile 250 hr/ac. Manageable with typical farm labor.
Processing Proximity
1 processor/cooperative buyer on record for this crop, 1 within NY/PA/OH.
Equipment Requirements
planting
Primary power unit for mowing, spraying, and orchard transport. Narrow-width (under 60 inch) models preferred for closer tree spacings.
Tractor-mounted augur or mechanical tree planter speeds establishment on blocks over 3 acres. Hand planting common on smaller acreages.
Required for high-density plantings on dwarfing rootstocks. Per-acre cost varies with spacing and post material. Many bartlett and bosc plantings remain free-standing on vigorous rootstocks.
irrigation
Per-acre cost for mainline, sub-main, emitters, filter, and controller. Essential for establishing new blocks and increasingly standard for mature orchards.
spraying
PTO-driven airblast sprayer sized for tractor horsepower and canopy volume. Tower designs improve upper-canopy coverage in dwarf plantings.
cultivation
Between-row grass management. Offset or side-discharge models improve coverage near tree rows.
Either a directed herbicide boom with shields or a mechanical Weed Badger/Wonder Weeder for under-tree weed control.
Hand pruning is the dominant cost of annual orchard labor. Pneumatic or battery-electric pruners increase worker output 2-3x.
harvesting
Per-ladder cost; most operations need one ladder per picker plus spares. Tripod design stabilizes on uneven orchard floors.
Hydraulic or flatbed trailer for moving wooden or plastic bushel bins from orchard to packing shed. Forklift-compatible configurations preferred.
Per-bin cost. Commercial orchards need one bin per 5-10 bushels of peak daily harvest plus reserves for storage and transit.
post_harvest
Mechanical cold room sized to single-harvest volume. Controlled atmosphere (CA) rooms cost 2-3x more but extend European pear storage from 3 to 7+ months.
Roller or belt grading table for visual size and defect sorting. Automated optical sorters start at $40,000+ and are used by larger packers.
Storage Requirements
Regular cold storage
Temperature
29–31°F
Humidity
90–95%
Max Storage
120 days
Controlled atmosphere
Temperature
29–31°F
Humidity
90–95%
Max Storage
240 days
Financial Return
Revenue Above Average
Gross revenue $6,250/ac vs catalog median $6,000/ac. Above median.
Input Costs Acceptable
Total input cost $4,900/ac vs catalog 75th percentile $6,300/ac. Within typical range.
Payback Period OK
Reaches full production in 5 years. Long establishment — capital tied up 5 years before full return.
Insurance Available
Federal crop insurance or an equivalent risk product is available.
Revenue Per Labor Hour
Net return per labor hour $19.57 ($1,350/ac over 69 hr/ac) vs catalog median $13.16. Above median.
Grants/Subsidies
Fruit crops are eligible under the USDA Specialty Crop Block Grant Program.
Economics Breakdown
| Avg Price/Unit | $2/per bushel |
| Gross Revenue/Acre | $356 |
| Annual Operating Cost | $216/acre |
| Establishment Cost | $10,000/acre |
| Total Input Cost | $4,800/acre |
| Net Return/Acre | $140 |
| Revenue/Labor Hour | $5 |
| Crop Insurance | Available |
| Subsidies | EQIP (orchard establishment), NAP (where MPCI not available) |
Source: Cornell Cooperative Extension, Penn State Extension, USDA RMA, regional budget studies (2025)
Risk Profile
Manageable Pest/Disease
4 of 11 documented risks are high-severity (36%) against a catalog median of 36%. Risk load is manageable by conventional IPM.
Market Diversified
6 viable market channels of 6 documented, plus 1 named buyer. Not dependent on a single outlet.
Low Establishment Risk
5 years to full production at $10,000/ac establishment cost. Multi-year capital commitment before first full return.
Climate Resilient
Tolerates zones 4-9 (6 zones). Broad tolerance indicates resilience to seasonal variability.
Regulatory Burden Low
No crop-specific licensing or reporting regime beyond standard food-safety and pesticide rules.
Diversifies Portfolio
Adds a fruit revenue stream distinct from the region's grape-dominated base.
Known Risks
market
Fresh pear wholesale channels are dominated by a small number of large packers and Pacific Northwest supply, compressing margins for smaller Eastern growers.
disease
Bacterial disease that blackens blossoms, shoots, and limbs; entire trees can be killed in a single season in susceptible cultivars. European pear (Pyrus communis) is highly susceptible.
Fungal disease causing olive-brown lesions on leaves and fruit; severe infection reduces fruit quality and marketability. Distinct from apple scab.
Fungal disease causing purple-black spots on leaves and fruit; can cause severe defoliation and render fruit unmarketable.
Phytoplasma disease transmitted by pear psylla; causes reduced vigor, leaf reddening, and tree death, especially on quince rootstocks.
pest
Most important pear insect pest. Nymphs produce honeydew causing sooty mold, russeting, and fruit drop. Vectors pear decline phytoplasma.
Key fruit-boring pest. Larvae tunnel into fruit, rendering it unmarketable. Multiple generations per year in warmer zones.
Weevil that lays eggs in developing fruit shortly after petal fall, causing crescent-shaped scars and premature fruit drop.
weather
Pear bloom often precedes last spring frost in many growing regions. A single freeze event at -2°C (28°F) at full bloom can eliminate the crop.
Sudden temperature drops after warm periods in late winter can injure trunks, scaffolds, and fruit buds, particularly in colder hardiness zones.
regulatory
Streptomycin use for fire blight control is under ongoing regulatory scrutiny; organic certification prohibits its use. Label restrictions have tightened.
Nutritional Yield
Nutrition data pending.
Research agents will profile Pear against USDA FoodData Central on the next maintenance pass. Per-acre nutritional yield will appear here once the per-100g panel is recorded.
Ecosystem Services
Ecosystem service data pending.
The next research-agent rotation will document this crop's contributions to pollinator support, soil health, water quality, biodiversity, and carbon sequestration.
Cultivars
Named varieties and what the sources say sets each apart. A cultivar-specific zone, chill or maturity figure overrides the species value above.
Grows With / Avoid Near
Documented interactions with other catalog crops — shared pests, allelopathy, rotation effects, alley and understory pairings — for companion, guild and rotation planning. Plan a combination with Pear →
Avoid near, or plan around (24)
Grows with (1)
Direction matters: a rotation benefit of A before B says nothing about B before A. Interactions are documented pairs only; absence is a research gap, not a clean bill.
Nearby Buyers
Eden Valley Growers
Eden, NY · 30.0 mi
Data Sources
Every data point on this page is traceable to its source. Below you'll find the complete provenance trail — which sources were used, when data was last verified, and a full change history.
Primary sources: Data sourced from Cornell Cooperative Extension, Penn State Extension, USDA resources, and regional research.
Economics data year: 2025 · Basis: lake erie View economics source →
79 tracked changes across 9 data categories