Pêra Rocha

Pêra Rocha (Rocha Pear) is an native Portuguese variety of pear. The earliest account of the Rocha variety dates from 1836, in the Sintra municipality. This variety was casually obtained from a seed, on Pedro António Rocha's farm. The variety derives its name from his family name. The Rocha pear is produced in several places in Portugal. The production area is over 100 km² and there are about 9,450 producers^[1].

Oeste's Pêra Rocha

Rocha Pear produced in the Oeste region is the most renowned, being a product with specific characteristics:

• Size: medium 55 to 75 mm
• Format: oval, piriform
• Skin: fine and smooth
• Colour: yellow and green
• Russeting: typical around peduncle
• Pulp Colour: white
• Pulp: hard and firm, crunchy, juicy and sweet
• 'Rocha' pear is very sensitive to pear scab (Venturia pirina) and also to Stemphylium vesicarium.

Over 13,520,000 kg of Oeste's Rocha Pear was exported in 2004 to countries like Britain, Brazil, France, Ireland, Russia, Poland, Netherlands, Canada and Spain.

References

1. ^ J.M. Silva, N.G. Barba, M.T. Barros, A. Torres-Paulo (2005-04-30). "Rocha’, the Pear from Portugal" (in en). Acta Hort. (ISHS) 671. pp. 219–222. http://www.actahort.org/members/showpdf?booknrarnr=671_29. Retrieved 2010-09-15.