Breeding of a new extremely early-maturing pear cultivar with high quality, Mingjing

Mingjing is a high- quality early- maturing pear variety. It was bred through hybridization with Huali No. 2 as the female parent and Guihua pear as the male parent by the Fruit and Tea Research Institute, Hubei Academy of Agricultural Sciences in 2008. A total of 178 hybrid seeds were obtained from this cross. The primary selection work began in 2014, focusing on excellent ultra-early maturity, appealing appearance, high quality, and high and stable yield. In 2015, the variety was planted in a comparison orchard, and also cultivated in Liangji Town of Zaoyang City, Jiangxia District, Xinzhou District of Wuhan City, and Echeng District of Ezhou City. Observations, tests, and analyses were conducted on the agronomic traits (such as growth, fruiting, high yield, stable yield and stress resistance) and fruit economic traits. The results showed that it had stable traits and prominent excellent characteristics, including regular round fruit shape, appealing appearance, high quality and strong resistance. In June 2023, it passed the registration of non-major agricultural crop varieties by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, with the registration number GDP Pear (2023) 420008, and was officially named Mingjing. The Mingjing tree has a moderate growth vigor and a semi-spreading tree posture. Its branches and stems are grayish-brown with a smooth surface; the one-year-old shoots are brown, measuring 52.54 cm in length, 0.68 cm in thickness, and having an internode length of 4.05 cm. The fruits are round in shaped, with a yellowish-green peel and a smooth fruit surface. The fruit dots are small. The flesh is white, fine and crisp in texture, and juicy, with a sweet flavor. The average single fruit weight is 262.5 g, and the fruit shape index is 0.92. The soluble solid content ranges from 11.2% to 11.5%, the titratable acid content is 0.94 g·kg-1 , the soluble sugar content is 7.6 g·100 g-1 , and the vitamin C content is 31.2 mg·kg-1 . The hardness of the peeled fruit is 5.3 kg· cm-2 , showing excellent fruit quality. In Wuhan, Hubei Province, it sprouts from late February to early March; full bloom occurs in mid- to- late March; fruit ripens in early July, and the leaves fall in early-to-mid November. The fruit growth period lasts for approximately 105 days. It is suitable for cultivation in Hubei Province and other regions with similar climates. For the cylindrical tree shape, the plant spacing is preferably 1.5 m × 4.0 m; for the "double-arm along-row" trellis tree shape, the recommended plant spacing is 4.0 m × 3.0 m. The tree enters the full fruiting period in the 5th year after planting, with a yield equivalent to 42 750 kg · hm2 during the full fruiting period. Multi-year regional trials have shown that this variety has good early fruiting performance, an early maturity period, strong high- yield capacity, resistance to black spot disease and wide adaptability. It is an excellent new very early-maturing pear variety.