A fire blight resistant, midseason Pyrus communis cultivar. Origin: released in 1998 by R.L. Bell and T. van der Zwet, USDA Agricultural Research Service, Kearneysville, W.Va., and R.C. Blake, USDA/ARS, Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC), Wooster, Ohio. A cross of US 446 × US 505 made in 1965 by H.J. Brooks. Selected in 1977 at OARDC, Wooster, Ohio, by R.C. Blake and T. van der Zwet and evaluated as OHUS 66131-021. Only Pyrus communis background with fire blight resistance from Seckel. Tree: upright-spreading, moderate vigor on Bartlett seedling rootstock. Moderate to high yield, precocious. Fruit borne on both spurs and terminal blossoms of lateral shoots. Fire blight resistance greater than Seckel; blossoms exhibit moderate resistance following artificial inoculations. Moderate field resistance to pear scab; susceptible to powdery mildew and Fabraea leaf spot. Blooms 1–4 days before Bartlett; self-incompatible, but Bartlett, Beurre Bosc, Harrow Delight, and Packham’s Triumph are suitable pollinizers. Named in memory of Roland C. Blake. Fruit: moderate size, symmetrical, pyriform to round-pyriform, 66 mm diameter, 80 mm height with short upright stem; skin yellow, glossy, ≈25% covered with smooth, tan russet; matures 3 weeks after Bartlett, ≈11 Sept. in Kearneysville; stores 3 months in common storage; flesh moderately fine buttery texture, juicy, with small grit cells at core and beneath skin; flavor subacid, and aromatic, more like Comice than Bartlett.
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