Belgian scientists research pear varieties for a harsh future

In the province of Limburg, one of Belgium's important pear growing areas, there is an orchard with 12 transparent domes, surrounded by a wall overlooking a park.

Inside these domes, researchers are growing pears in a controlled environment that simulates climate conditions that could occur in 2040. Their goal is to monitor how global warming will impact fruit growers in Europe.

'We expect more heatwaves and less rainfall, which means more droughts and floods. Overall, temperatures will increase slightly ,' said Francois Rineau, an associate professor at Hasselt University, of the simulated climate inside the domes.

Pear trees are grown in a transparent dome at the Ecotron research facility. (Photo: Reuters).

Results from scientists' first harvest in 2023 suggest Belgian pears could avoid some of the worst impacts of climate change - which is predicted to reduce yields of some crops and force farmers to pay more for irrigation technology to combat drought.

'The impact of climate change in 2040 on pear quality is minimal. However, we did find differences in how the ecosystem functions ,' Rineau said, noting that the earlier growing season in the 2040 simulation appeared to cause the ecosystem to absorb more _CO2 .

"The year-to-year variability means that one year is not enough to capture extreme weather events and other climate changes that can devastate crops. The experiment will last three years – three harvests.

This year's pear crop is being analysed at the Flanders Centre for Postharvest Technology (VCBT) for size, firmness and sugar content, which will then be compared to pears grown in domes simulating current climates."

' If the temperature is higher, pears tend to be less firm and have more sugar ,' said VCBT researcher Dorien Vanhees.

That's bad news for growers. The less firm fruit will have a shorter shelf life, reducing the number of pears farmers can sell.

Belgium's pear production is expected to fall 27% this year, according to the World Apple and Pear Association, due to factors such as early flowering and unusually late frosts.