South Portugal has a similar climate to mid California so citrus,olives and figs thrive,but with the usual problem of the Mediteranean Fruit Fly. Pears grow well but too hot for good apples. The Rocha pear is exported over Europe and the UK. I have a bush Rocha pear which has been in place for about 10 years.The bush has healthy leaves and the flowers and fruit form normally. The fruit begins to ripen early September and is hard on the surface, with no obvious blemishes.If I cut the pear in half, the middle has a brown rot and this spreads to the whole fruit eventually so that if left on the tree,it is completely rotten. My impression is that the disease enters the fruit at flowering/fruit formation stage,rather than as it ripens. I have two other pear trees of a different variety and they suffer exactly the same,even though they are an earlier variety. Any ideas please?
