Stemilt is partnering with Day’s Century Growers, a family-owned pear grower and packer in British Columbia, to sublicense the new HW624 pear, branded as Happi pear, to offer locally grown Happi pears to Canadian consumers.
Rob Blakey, Stemilt’s director of research and development; Kevin Day, co-owner of Day’s Century Growers; and Ian Potter, Vineland Research and Innovation Centre’s president and CEO, share their excitement for the cross-border collaboration to bring Happi pear to the Canadian public from a local grower, according to a news release.
“Day’s Century and their growers are the leading pear growers and packers in British Columbia, and we are excited to collaborate with them on the Happi pear project,” Blakey said. “Haley’s Comet comes around more often than the launch of a new pear variety, so when something as special as Happi pear comes along, it is key to join forces with growers and packers who understand the importance of quality and the needs of the local consumer.”
The Day family, owners of Day’s Century Growers, has farmed their land, known as Byrnes Farms, for more than five generations, growing pears, fresh vegetables and sweet corn. Day’s Century is known for its locally grown pears in the heart of Kelowna, British Columbia. The grower has also implemented high-density plantings in the property’s newer orchards to increase the volume of pears per acre and the fruit quality, the release said.
“Our family has been farming since 1892, and we represent 80% to 90% of the pears grown in British Columbia,” Day said. “We have been looking for a new pear, and Happi pear has been the best candidate for us. We like Happi pear because of its sweet but slightly tangy flavor profile, storage ability and growing benefits, like its tolerance to psylla and fire blight. The HW624 variety behind the Happi pear program is set up to be successful for us as the grower and for the end consumer who enjoys it.”
Happi pear was bred by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada researchers at the breeding station at AAFC’s Harrow Research and Development Centre in Ontario, British Columbia through cross-pollination methods, the release said. Since then, Vineland Research and Innovation Centre has been evaluating the Harrow pear varieties and through working alongside the growers and consumers, HW624 hit all the marks. Happi pear is a Harrow Sweet cross that has a sweet, bright, zesty bite with citrus notes and some pears displaying a light blush color. Happi is one of the few pear varieties that has excellent eating quality when it is green and crunchy or when yellow with a melting texture. For the grower, the variety is precocious, productive and highly tolerant to fire blight and pear psylla. For the packer, it is easy to store and pack, with low scuffing and shrivel. Because pear breeding is so slow, it is rare for a variety to tick so many boxes in the supply chain.
Vineland is proud of the achievements of Stemilt Growers in engaging Canadian producers like Day’s Century Growers in the commercialization of HW624 and the Happi pear brand. This represents the beginning of a nationwide rollout of this exciting new pear and exemplifies Vineland’s commitment to bring high-quality, locally grown Happi pears to Canadian growers and consumers, enhancing the economic viability and sustainability of the horticulture sector, the release said.
Stemilt and Day’s Century Growers share an aligned passion for bringing innovation into the pear category through precision growing, packing and shipping practices. In 2019, the Day family installed a new packing machine equipped with three-lane electronic pear grading and dumping mechanisms specifically designed to increase daily production of pears and yield a consistent, quality pack of pears. Likewise, Stemilt is in its second year of producing pears on its new, state-of-the-art Unitec pear packing line in Wenatchee, Wash., complete with double defect sorters and direct transportation between the packing line and its distribution center to ensure pear freshness and quality, the release said.
“We’re very excited to be partnering with Day’s Century Growers to plant enough of this new cultivar to bring Happi pear supply that will match the high demand for the premium variety throughout North America,” Blakey said. “We look forward to building the Happi pear brand with an exceptional local grower group and packer in British Columbia. Growing a new variety to commercial volumes takes time and collaboration. Instead of getting there fast on our own, we hope to go farther together with our friends and partners in Canada.”
