by Diane Sagers

CORRESPONDENT

The fruit harvest is getting underway. Early peaches and apples are ripening and providing us with their sweet, juicy flavors and later varieties are getting closer. Sugars develop and peaches turn orange and soften to their ripe, juicy form. Apples also turn red or golden and become juicy and sweet before it is time to pick them. We have learned to love the fresh-from-the-garden flavor of garden-ripened produce allowed to mature in the garden and picked when it is perfect for eating. That is one of the prime reasons to grow a garden.

Pears too are nearing their optimum time for harvest, but the optimum time to pick them is not as clear-cut as it is for other tree fruits. Pears are the exception to the rule. You don't wait until they turn yellow and get soft and sweet to pick them. If you do leave them on the tree until the outside has turned yellow, chances are good that the part of the fruit around the core has turned brown and soft. The rest of the fruit that is not soft and brown will be gritty and will not taste as good as we expect fresh pears to taste.

Pears develop their optimum flavor when they are picked early and allowed to ripen off the tree. It is a little touchy because if they are picked too late you can expect the problems already named and if picked too early, the unripe pears will shrivel without ripening. How can one know when it is the right time to pick pears?

The calendar will help you determine the right time for picking. Bartlett pears are the most popular variety. They are usually ready to pick during the last half of August or the first half of September. Begin checking for readiness about now.

* If you are growing winter pears such as D'anjou, Comice, and Bosc, they will be ready to pick two to four weeks later than Bartlett pears. They will also need to ripen off the tree and will show the same signs as Bartlett pears as they become ready to pick.

* Fruit will get larger as it gets close to maturity. If you have a tree that is loaded with fruit, that fruit will likely not become as large as it will on a tree that carries less fruit.

* The skin turns from a dark green to a lighter green color and lenticels become more visible. Lenticels are ventilating pores that show up as tiny dark oblong dots on the skin.

* The coats of the seeds inside the fruit turn dark brown. Cut open a fruit or two and check the seed coat color.

* As the fruits reach the right stage some will begin to fall. Keep in mind that damaged fruits -- those that are wormy, will drop prematurely. Look for a few healthy fruits to drop.

* The most sure test is the picking test. Fruits that are ready to pick will come off the tree easily. Grasp the pear gently, lift it to take the weight off the spur -- the woody side twig that the pear is attached to-- and twist gently. If the pear is ready to harvest, it will separate easily. If you have to pull hard to get it to come off or if you break the stem, wait and try again in a few days.

The pears may not all be ready at the same time. If your tree has both large and small fruits, pick the larger ones first. Smaller ones will continue to grow. They will be ready to pick a week or 10 days later.

Pick and place them gently in a box and take them into the house or garage. Ripen the fruit at room temperature. If you want all the fruit to ripen at the same time so you can process it by covering the box with a blanket or a newspaper. As fruit ripens, it gives off ethylene gas. By covering the fruit, you hold the gas in and it becomes concentrated. The gas hastens the ripening process.

If you want the fruits to ripen more slowly, spread them out and let them ripen at their own rates.

Pick winter pears later when they are ready. Ripening them requires different conditions than Bartlett pears. Store them for two to three months in refrigerator temperatures below 40 degrees, but above freezing. Take them out of cold storage a few days before you wish to eat them.

If your pears have developed brown skins, particularly around the bottom areas, it is probably a reaction to worm sprays. Liquid concentrates seem to cause this condition more than wettable powders. This does not apply to Bosc pears, which naturally produce brown skins on healthy fruits.

Irregular brown areas or those that cover the entire pear are probably caused by the pear rust mite, which feeds on the skin of the immature pears. Dormant sprays of superior oil plus thiodan can control these mites, but it is too late to do anything about that now. Apply dormant sprays as blossoms swell in early spring.

Tips for the week

* Prepare areas for a new lawn that you plan to plant when the weather cools a bit.