Fruiting pear is converted to wild pear

Q: I have two pear trees side by side. Each year they have produced an over abundance of beautiful fruit. This year I happened to look up and see that there were only a few full sized pears on the trees and on one tree the whole side was covered in these little tiny round berry-like things. I removed one and scratched the surface and it didn’t smell anything like a pear.

The only thing I can think of is that my neighbor has a Bradford pear in their yard on the same side as my pear trees. Could it have cross pollinated even though they are not the same kind of tree?

A: Bradford pear will pollinate fruiting pears. The fruiting tree will bear the same fruit you always enjoyed but the seeds inside, if planted, will result in a wild pear that bears small inedible fruit.

Somehow a wild pear seed has sprouted and overwhelmed your fruiting pair. Follow the “bad” pear trunk down and remove it completely.