Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Quince is a pear-like fruit native to Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iran, and
Pakistan. It is the only species in the genus
Cydonia
(
C. oblonga
). The or-
namental Japanese quince, Chinese quince, and common flowering quince
(
Chenomales
sp.) produce very small, hard, nearly inedible fruits and are sel-
dom used for fruit production.
Quinces at a Glance
Region:
USDA Zones 7 to 9 for commercial growers
Soil type:
Deep, moist, well-drained soils; tolerate wet soils and
drought better than apples
Pollination:
Entirely self-fruitful, partially self-fruitful, or not self-fruit-
ful, depending on variety
Other notes:
The greatest challenges to growing quince involve pests
and diseases. Thoroughly evaluate your market before moving into
quince.
Quince was well known in ancient times and may have been cultivated be-
fore the apple; references to its cultivation date to perhaps 2000
BCE
or
earlier. From its origins in the Middle East, quince spread throughout the
known world and was important in both Greek and Roman civilizations.
Quince was, and remains, culturally important in many parts of the world.
Although quince has long been grown in North America and remains a
popular garden fruit, commercial demand and cultivation have been very
limited here. What little cultivation there was declined sharply following the
introduction of fire blight to the United States in the 1830s. Argentina is a
major quince producer and exporter, and Chile and Uruguay also have not-
