The NAFEX Southern Pear Interest Group now has forty members and includes people in an area from just South of the Canadian border to Central Mexico. Our group includes a membership that varies from the novice fruit grower to the commercial orchardist. We are at present working on a project that will determine the best pear cultivars for every member in our group, wherever they are located. We publish a quarterly newsletter and have no dues. We do request that our members contribute to our newsletters with grower's reports, and solicit any questions they may have about growing pears. Someone in our group can provide answers to most any growing problem.

We are presently testing many local pears growing in the Southern USDA zones of the country in search of good low chill cultivars. These pears will then be tested by the Northern growers to see if they will produce in colder areas. Our primary challenge is to locate superior cultivars for the Southern Pear growers.

I first agreed to chair this group since there was no active pear group in NAFEX at the time. I have since found that there is much interest in growing pears throughout the country and invite you to join our group.

Contact Information:

Travis J. Callahan
15102 Lindsay Drive, Abbeville, LA 70510
Phone: 318-893-9134
E-mail: teecee2--AT-bellsouth.nett
Personal Website: http://www.geocities.com/ccduster/page3.htm
Pear Bulletin Board: http://www.geocities.com/ccduster/page10.htm