The pear cultivar ‘Packham’s Triumph’ sets poorly in the Western Cape as a result of abnormally high rates of fruit drop approximately six weeks after full bloom. Sprays containing 2-(2,4,5-trichlorophenoxy) propionic acid (2,4,5-TP) are used by commercial growers to improve fruit-set. In the present study bean explants were used as a model system to investigate the effects of 2,4,5-TP on abscission. The effect of 2,4,5-TP on the abscission of pedicels and fruit stalks of ‘Packham’s Triumph’ pears was also studied. The results indicate that 2,4,5-TP prevents the abscission of explants, pedicels and fruit stalks indefinitely and this effect corresponds to known effects of indoleacetic acid (IAA) on abscission. It is concluded that 2,4,5-TP probably prevents abscission through the maintenance of a favourable auxin gradient across abscission zones.