The fruit firmness at harvest was maximum (18 lb force) and it gradually declined as the period of storage advanced, but this rate of decrease in firmness was significantly slowed down by calcium treatment (Table 1). The fruit firmness was under all calcium treatments consistently higher than the control during entire storage period. The pear fruits treated with 4 per cent calcium chloride retained as much firmness (14 lb force) after 75 days of storage as retained by control fruits after 45 days
of storage. Hence there was a gain of 30 days of extended storage life with 4 per cent calcium chloride application. The pear fruits attained best eating quality at 12-14 lbs force pressure and if it