Drop in pears harvest threatens thousands of families

Pears cultivators point out that though this is the harvesting season, the yield has declined by 50 percent when compared to previous years

•  Cultivators point out that though this is the harvesting season, the yield has declined by 50 percent when compared to previous years
•  Several of them attributed the poor yield to heavy rains and gale force winds experienced continually in March and April

Samuel Baker (Shown in the photograph) was a tea planter in Sri Lanka who is credit with introducing pears cultivation to this island

By Shantha Chandrasiri

Pears are popularly known as Sri Lankan apples. This is a fruit endemic to the Nuwara Eliya district. But it is now endangered and risks extinction from Sri Lankan soil, much to the anxiety of pears cultivators. 

Cultivators point out that though this is the harvesting season, the yield has declined by 50 percent when compared to previous years. They suspect that the pears cultivation has been affected by a pest.

Pears cultivators in Ragala, Maithrithenna, Binganthalawa, Gonapitiya, Palalpathana, Ratnayeka Pathana, Gona Kele and St. John areas, whose main occupation is pears cultivation, said that they face economic hardships owing to the declining yield. 

Several of them attributed the poor yield to heavy rains and gale force winds experienced continually in March and April that affected the crop at the flowering stage and resulted in the loss of fruit buds and leaves as well. They pointed out that many trees withered away possibly due to a blight caused by a virus.

A pears cultivator in Ketayapathana in Maturata, K.M.P. Abeyratne said that pears cultivation in the country has a long history of more than 100 years. He said that Samuel Baker, a tea planter in Sri Lanka during British rule, had introduced pears cultivation to the country.

“British planters had first experimented with apple cultivation, but it was ruined by a fungi. Later they switched to pears cultivation. However in 1978, pears cultivation in the Nuwara Eliya district was totally ruined by the spread of a fungi that followed a terrible gale force wind,” Abeyratne said.

K.M.P. Abeyratne

A.H. Jayaweera

“The yield this year has been reduced by 50 percent when compared to the previous year. Rain and strong winds have seriously affected pears trees during the flowering stage. There is an increasing demand for pears, but it is not possible to meet it due to the poor yield. We have reasons to believe that inclement weather affected the yield. We are facing heavy losses for want of a remunerative market for our produce,” Abeyratne further said.

A.H. Jayaweera, a pears cultivator in Gonad eniya, expressed concern about importing pears. He stressed the need to curtail imports at least during the harvesting season in July to September.

“We had a yield of about 250 kilos of fruits per tree last year. However it has now declined to 50 kilos. Trees are fast withering away. The step motherly treatment by officials for this crop that provided the livelihood of thousands of families is deplorable. They have not implemented a plan to protect pears cultivation which is endangered with extinction. Agricultural officers have advised to cut off the branches affected with fungi, but it would cause further damage to the tree and worsen the danger,” he further said.

Meanwhile the representatives of agrarian organisations pointed out that the pears cultivation should be expanded and that abandoned estates and fallow land could be used for this purpose. That step should be taken to provide a remunerative market for pears.  

Ayurvedic physicians who highlighted the medicinal value of pears said that pears is an effective cure for several non-communicable diseases including hypertension, and disorders caused by cholesterol, cancer, osteoporosis and constipation. 

Meanwhile, chefs of tourist hotels in Nuwara Eliya said that pears could be used as a recipe in preparing delicious drinks and desserts. They pointed out that pears salad, pears smoothie, pears crispy, pears caramelised, pears cake and pears jam were among them.

However, pears cultivators requested the Ministry of Agriculture to work out an effective mechanism to develop and protect pears cultivation in the Nuwara Eliya district.