Origin, Domestication, and Dispersing of Pear (Pyrusspp.)

Abstract

The pear (Pyrus communis L.) is a typical fruit of temperate regions, having its origin and domestication at two different points, China and Asia Minor until the Middle East. It is the fifth most widely produced fruit in the world, being produced mainly in China, Europe, and the United States. Pear belongs to rosaceous family, being a close "cousin" of the apple, but with some particularities that make this fruit special with a delicate flavor. Thus, it deserves a special attention and a meticulous review of all the history involved, and the recent research devoted to it, because of the economic and cultural importance of this fruit in a range of countries and cultures. Therefore, the purpose of this literature review is to approach the history of the origin, domestication, and dispersal of pears, as well as reporting their botany, their current scenario in the world, and their breeding and conservation.

Genetic diversity and structure of Pyrus accessions of Indian Himalayan region based on morphological and SSR markers

“…Pear ranks second to apple in production of temperate fruits worldwide (Oliveira et al 1999;Wünsch and Hormaza 2007;Sharma and Rana 2010). The genus Pyrus contains 23 widely recognized primary species, mainly distributed in temperate Asia, Europe and the mountainous area of North Africa (Silva et al 2014). Of the two major cultivated species, Pyrus communis L. is a commonly cultivated pear species in Europe, North America, South America, Australia and Africa, while Pyrus pyrifolia Burm.…”

Morphological, anatomical and cytological characteristics of spontaneous hybrid Pyrus ×myloslavensis

“…as its main wild ancestors. It evolved and was domesticated at two different centers, China and Asia Minor until the Middle East (Silva et al, 2014). Now more than a thousand cultivars of this species are known.…”

Variation in the fruit characteristics of local pear (Pyrus spp.) in the Northwest of Iran

“…The genus Pyrus (subfamily Pomoideae; family Rosaceae) has 20 species or more, although exact numbers depend on the interpretation by different groups (Challice and Westwood 1973;de Souza et al 1998;Silva et al 2014). Pears are divided into two native groups, including Occidental and Oriental pears, depending on their original distribution, although it is believed that the primary origin and domestication of the genus Pyrus are at three different points, China, Asia Minor until the Middle East with limits in the Caucasus mountains (Silva et al 2014), or a third secondary center located in Central Asia (Elgar et al 1997;Bell and Itai 2011). On the basis of their geographic distribution and morphological characters, most cultivated pears native to east Asia are composed primarily of five groups: Ussurian pear (P. ussuriensis Maxim.…”

“…Variability in taste and color of pear fruits is mostly due to changes in the contents and ratios of sugars (e.g., Itai and Takahashi 2008;Kaur and Dhillon 2014). The sugar content varies greatly among Japanese, Chinese, and European pears with the former two having highest and lowest sucrose content, respectively, while European pears have a high fructose content (Silva et al 2014). Citric and malic acid ratios in pear fruit juice are correlated, allowing for the organoleptic evaluation of taste and quality (Hudina and Stampar 2000).…”

“…Moreover, cultivars that are carefully selected for high total soluble solids (TSS) content in fruits could be of interest for increasing their postharvest life. Quality analysis and eating qualities have been evaluated in many species of pear (Katayama and Uematsu 2006;Silva et al 2014) and wide variations in fruit-related and chemical characteristics have been reported among genotypes. Variability in wild and primitive varieties of pear has also been reported (Paganová 2009).…”