“In 2001 I planted Conference pear trees grafted on C rootstocks in six hectares. In the middle of the plot I planted a row of Conference grafted on Q-Eline to enable me to compare the two rootstocks. When the first crop was ready for picking I noted that the skin of the pears from the trees grafted on Q-Eline was a lot smoother. But my main objective was to find out how susceptible to frost the trees were. In the severe winter of 2012 the Q-Eline rootstocks proved to be very winter-hardy without being protected. This implies great opportunities for Q-Eline, because frost damage to pear rootstocks can cause an awful lot of losses, the consequences of which may still be felt many years later. The elimination of this risk is a major step forwards for pear cultivation!”
