A new early-ripening pear cultivar Hujingli 18

Abstract: Hujingli 18, a new early-ripening cultivar with high quality, was selected from the cross of Hakko × Zaosheng xinshui in 2010. The cultivar, which was tested regional adaptability at three sites including Jinshan, Fengxian and Qingpu district in Shanghai from 2011 to 2016, was finally selected and named as Hujingli 18 in 2017. Being vigorous at young stage and moderate while grown to adult stage is its nature. Hujingli 18 short fruiting buds are not easy to be formed. It is suitable for setting fruits with axillary buds. Annual shoots, with the average 4.31 cm internode length, are yellow brown at sun- ward side. There are stronger germination rate, moderate branching ability, light green young shoot and green young leaf. The petal is white, ovate and coterminous (an average of 5 petals for each flower), an- thers look pink red. As well as above 58.8% flowers pollinated in nature can become fruits. The charac- teristics of Hujingli 18 are: 1) Early-maturing. The fruit-growth-period is about 100 days, from bloom- ing in late March early April to maturity in early-middle July in Shanghai. 2) Moderate yield. The aver- age fruit weight is 250 g. The productivity reaches to 10 822 kg · hm- 2 using wide row and dense plant- ing pattern for 4-5 years. 3) Excellent fruit quality. The fruit includes the 12% soluble solid content, 17.52 mg·g-1 sucrose content, 17.04 mg·g-1 glucose content, 40.78 mg·g-1 fructose content and 2.24 mg·g-1malic acid content. Moreover, the fruit core is small. The flesh crisp, juicy, less stone cells, and sweet shows higher eating quality. 4) Nice appearances. The fruit shape is oblate, the fruit dot looks small. Skin color is brown in nature and yellowish-brown after bagging. In addition, it is suitable for fresh food not for storage yet. Otherwise pear ring rot is supposed to be prevented generally. In conclusion, Hujingli 18 early-maturing, moderate-yield and high-quality is a new pear cultivar and suitable for planting in the Yangtze River basin and similar climatic conditions.