80% of the Swiss pear production, in terms of hectares, is dominated by the four old cultivars “Bosc” (32%), “Williams” (19%), “Conférence” (18%), and “Louise Bonne” (11%). However, the new bi-colored cultivars “Celina” and “CH201” have been on the rise since their recent launch in Switzerland, accounting for six and two percent respectively of the total planted surface. The “CH201” pear cultivar was selected by the Agroscope pear breeding program in Conthey, Switzerland, and released in 2018 as the trademark FRED® by VariCom. The fruits are bi-colored, have a crisp and juicy flesh, and have been well welcomed by Swiss consumer, especially young and casual pear lovers. The Swiss pear industry needs new cultivars, just like “CH201”, to increase the limited choice of cultivars with improved agronomic traits and a strong consumer acceptance. Therefore, Agroscope decided in 2022 to invest more in its pear breeding program. The main objective of the program is to breed new green and bi-colored cultivars with outstanding eating qualities, homogenous size, with regular and high production, and with extended storage performance and shelf-live. Furthermore, special attention is given to breeding lines with improved disease tolerance, which are mainly scab and fire-blight, and resilience towards climatic risks such as low and high temperatures. The breeding program mainly focuses on populations with European pear genetic background. A first set of 23 families resulting from “CH201” crosses conducted between 2018 and 2020 as preliminary work for the new breeding program have been planted at Agroscope Conthey, Switzerland. First observations and breeding goals are discussed.
