Southern Oregon pear growers have a long history of growing Comice and are able to use the precocious quince rootstocks to overcome the variety’s reluctance to bear. In fact, it’s their second major variety after Bosc. But Medford area orchardists have had the same problems as their counterparts in Washington State when it comes to producing a smoothly russeted Taylor’s Gold, which is a sport of Comice. The finish tends to be blotchy. Dr. David Sugar, plant pathologist at Oregon State University’s Southern Oregon Research and Extension Center at Central Point, said everyone assumed at first that the problem was […]