'Bell' Pear

'Bell' (Pyrus communis L.) is an early season pear variety that combines fire blight resistance with exceptional flavor and high productivity. Fire blight, caused by the bacterial pathogen Erwinia amylovora, is a devastating disease for pear growers in the mid Atlantic region and other pear production areas prone to hot and humid climates. 'Bell' has exhibited strong resistance to natural infection by Erwinia compared with the susceptible, industry-standard 'Bartlett'. 'Bell' also exhibits a "balanced" sugar and acidity content that is desirable and preferred by pear consumers. The US Department of Agriculture and Pennsylvania State University released 'Bell' in 2022 as a fresh-market pear for commercial, direct-to-market, and home production. and Tall-Spindle (518 trees/acre) training systems, in a trial with other USDA se- lections and pear varieties of commercial importance. The trees grown in the Bi- Axis system had five replicate trees per variety, whereas the trees in the Tall- Spindle had nine replicate trees per vari- ety. The training systems were planted in complete block design with one repli- cate tree per variety in each block. Based on performance information gained at both trial sites, 'Bell' was jointly selected by USDA-ARS-AFRS and Pennsylvania State University researchers.