A new early-ripening pear cultivar Huxiao

Huxiao is a new early-ripening sand pear cultivar selected from the cross of Zaosheng Xinshui × Huanghua. The hybridization was carried out in 2006, followed by bowl seedling cultivation and transplantation in 2007. A total of 246 hybrid plants were obtained and planted in 2009 at the Jinshan Fruit Tree Experimental Station of the Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences. The plant with the number pz16-13 had been selected as superior individual plant since 2014, and regional adaptability trials were conducted at three sites including Jinshan, Fengxian and Chongming district in Shanghai from 2015 to 2020. This cultivar was characterized by early maturity, beautiful fruit appearance, good quality, good adaptability, large numbers of pollen grains per anther, and high pollen germination rate. It was named Huxiao in 2021 and applied for national plant variety rights. In 2024, it passed the field investigation of the variety and granted national plant variety rights authorization in 2025 with variety right No.: CNA20211008812 as well as certification by the Shanghai Forest Tree Fine Variety Approval Committee with the variety No.: S- SV- PP- 002- 2024. Huxiao young trees exhibit vigorous growth, while adult trees show moderate to strong vigor with the semi-open posture. It has moderate branching ability and strong germination rate. One-year-old shoots are upright with an average internode length of 4.31 cm and a dark brown color on the sun- facing side. Vegetative buds are sharp-tipped and appressed to the shoot. The flower buds are distributed as axillary flower buds and short fruiting flower buds, with a length of 12.76 mm and a long elliptical shape. The young shoots and leaves are light red, and the mature leaves are distinguishable by their sharp serrated leaf margins, rounded leaf bases, and acuminate leaf tips. In Shanghai area, flower buds sprout in early March, and the peak flowering period is in late March, with a flowering period of about 10 days. There are mostly 5 petals of flowers, with pink red an-thers and higher stigma than anthers. The flowering period of Huxiao was earlier than that of Zaosheng xinshui, similar to that of Huanghua, Cuiguan. Numbers of pollen grains per anther was large, and the pollen germination rate was high with about 85%. The fruit setting rate of reciprocal crosses between Huxiao and Cuiguan exceeded was 86%. Under natural pollination, the fruit set rate is high, reaching 98.8% for the inflorescence fruit setting rate and 84.3% for the flower fruit setting rate. The mature period of Huxiao is in mid-late July. The fruit shape is globose or oblate with an average weight of 250 g per fruit, a longitudinal diameter of 6.93 cm, and a transverse diameter of 7.89 cm. The skin is brown and has a nice appearance; the fruit core is medium-sized, and the flesh is crisp, sour and sweet, with abundant juice and few stone cells. The fruit contains 12.2%-13.1% soluble solids content, 42.93 mg·g-1 sucrose content, 13.61 mg · g-1 glucose content, 28.13 mg · g-1 fructose content, 26.92 mg · g-1 sorbitol content, and 2.45 mg·g-1 malic acid content. The fruit development period is about 115 days, from blooming in early April to maturity in mid-late July in Shanghai. The fruit hanging period on tree can last until midAugust, holding good quality, and defoliation period is in late November. Compared with Zaosheng xinshui, Huxiao has a similar maturity period. It features an attractive appearance, a long shelf life, excellent storage and transport durability, strong adaptability, high and stable yields, and robust disease resistance. Compared to Huanghua, it matures earlier and offers superior quality. It is a good pollination variety for Cuiguan, producing abundant pollens and achieving a high fruit- set rate. Huxiao also readily develops short fruiting buds. Regional experiments have shown that the yield of 6-year-old Huxiao trees can reach 1550 kg per 666.7 m2 , with an average soluble solids content of 12.8%. For many years, the trees have grown well, with strong disease resistance and good adaptability. This variety is suitable for cultivation in regions where sand pears thrive, such as the Yangtze River Basin. Orchards should be selected in flat terrain with high organic matter content, free from sources of air and water pollution. The recommended planting density is 80-160 trees per 666.7 m2 , and the tree shape is mainly composed of dispersed layered or central leader with fruit branches directly. The recommended plant spacing is 1-2 m, and the row distance is 4 m. Huanghua and Cuiguan are suitable pollination varieties. Conventional cultivation involves cultivating a reasonable skeleton for young trees, quickly forming a crown, allowing the production tree to open its corners for light transmission, configuring strong and stable fruiting branches, and balancing the tree's vigour by supporting the weak and suppressing overly vigorous shoots. The intensive planting cultivation mode emphasize early-stage management, which promotes the rapid formation of the main stem in the current year, and promotes lateral branches sprouting by carving buds during the germination period in the following year, cultivating a compact tree shape for central leader with fruit branches directly. Huxiao is a medium- sized pear variety that offers high economic returns and serves as an excellent pollinator for the Cuiguan variety, effectively replacing Huanghua. However, failure to thin the fruit in a timely manner often results in undersized fruit; therefore, timely blossom and fruit thinning is essential. During critical stages of fruit development, adequate water and fertilizer must be supplied to promote fruit expansion and enhance quality. Additionally, attention should be paid to ensuring good ventilation and light exposure to prevent the formation of blemishes on the fruit surface.