Origin

Would you have thought that this fine pear is the result of over 20 years of work?

FRED’s story began in the year 2000 when agronomists at Agroscope Research Station in Conthey (CH) crossed the

tasty, fire blight-resistant pear variety ‘Harrow Sweet’ with the storable and attractive red-coloured variety ‘Verdi’. This

crossing fascinated the pear breeder and discoverer Danilo Christen from the beginning.

It started with the crossing of two pear varieties by hand pollination. The

breeders applied pollen from the father ‘Harrow Sweet’ to the flowers of

the mother variety ‘Verdi’. In autumn, the cross fruits were harvested

and then their seeds sown again. This gave the agronomists hundreds

of trees, each with a different genetic composition. Each of these

genotypes represented a potential new variety, but only one was to

prevail and pass the test of selection.

In 2009, after a year-long selection process, pear breeder

Danilo Christen chose this variety ‘CH 201’, which would

later receive the brand name FRED®. A total of 125

partners around the world, including agronomists,

consultants and nurseries, shared their knowledge and

experience and a unique pear grew.

After 5 years of testing, the selected young fruit finally received its own

protected variety status. The variety ‘CH201’ was soon registered under

the brand name “FRED®”. A moderately vigorous tree, a two-coloured

juicy fruit, an excellent taste with a balanced proportion of sweetness

and acidity. The perfect pear, it exists: it has everything to please and is

called FRED®.

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