Williams

Williams, also known as Bartlett, originates from England, where it was developed at the end of the 18th century, in 1770, as a chance seedling. It was named after the nurseryman Williams, who propagated and spread it. In North America, it is globally known as Bartlett. Due to its unsurpassed, luxurious aroma, extreme juiciness, and high productivity, it is the most popular, most widely grown, and economically most important pear variety both worldwide and in our region.

The Williams pear is partially self-fertile, but for a heavy and regular yield, cross-pollination with compatible varieties is recommended. Since it flowers medium-late to late, it successfully avoids late spring frosts, and its best and field-proven pollinators are Conference, Beurré Bosc, Giffard, and Clapp’s Favorite.

The tree is low to moderately vigorous, with a recognizable, spacious, broad-pyramidal canopy that grows upright in youth, later spreading nicely under the weight of the crop. It enters full bearing extremely early, often setting and producing its first commercial fruit as early as the second or third year after planting. Once it starts bearing, it produces regular, stable, extremely abundant, and record-breaking yields. It tolerates strong pruning well and requires fruit thinning in early summer in order to prevent the crop from remaining small.

It belongs to the group of summer to early autumn pear varieties. In our region and under continental climatic conditions, it reaches harvest maturity at the end of August and in early September, usually between August 20 and September 5.

Harvesting is carried out exclusively at technological maturity, around two weeks before full maturity on the tree, while the fruit is still completely firm and light green. If left to turn yellow on the tree, the flesh loses juice, rapidly deteriorates, and breaks down internally. Fruit harvested at the proper time tolerates handling and transport very well.

It has very good storage ability for a summer pear. In standard cold storage, it can be successfully kept for 2–3 months, while in modern ULO cold storage with controlled atmosphere it retains full firmness and freshness for up to 5 months. It is an irreplaceable variety for premium industrial processing: it is used to distill the famous and highly valued Williams pear brandy, and it is also widely used for the production of premium juices, purées, compotes, dried fruit, and for fresh table consumption.

The fruit is large to very large, with an average weight of 180–230 g or more, uniform, and characteristic in its typical pear-shaped, blunt-conical form, with a slightly wavy and uneven surface. The skin is thin, smooth, and aromatic, light green at harvest, later turning an attractive golden-yellow color during ripening in storage, with small brown lenticels, or dots. The flesh is pale yellowish to creamy-white, exceptionally juicy, buttery in texture, and completely free of stone cells, or sclereids, which makes it literally melt in the mouth. The taste is unsurpassed, rich, full, distinctly sweet, with fine, refined refreshing acidity and an extremely strong, recognizable Muscat aroma.

It is a moderately resistant variety. It shows good resistance of the wood to winter frosts. It is susceptible to fire blight, Erwinia amylovora, pear scab on leaves and fruit, Venturia pyrina, and pear psylla, Cacopsylla pyri, which requires mandatory, professional, and regular preventive chemical protection throughout the entire growing season.

Our pear fruit trees are produced on highly compatible and certified rootstocks. Since Williams has a pronounced natural incompatibility, or poor anatomical graft union, with quince, in our nursery we produce it exclusively with an interstock, using Kaluđerka or Beurré Hardy, on vegetative rootstocks Quince M-A and Quince BA-29. This guarantees long tree life, early bearing, and prevents cracking at the graft union in windy conditions. It is also produced on the generative wild pear rootstock, Pyrus communis, for drier and poorer soils.