all 3 of the Korean varieties were excellent, although I couldn’t tell the difference between the 2 round varieties in any way (flavor, productivity, vigor, etc…). one is treated seed and the other isn’t, that’s really the big difference.
I wouldn’t say any of them were an “improvement” over Tromboncino overall. sure they are more productive than tromboncino, but given the size of the tromboncino fruits they likely produced the same overall mass of fruit flesh per plant.
My main reasoning for growing tromboncino and these Korean varieties was for improved pest and disease resistance over other species of squash, namely zucchini. I have found the Koreans and tromboncino to be essentially borer immune (although practically they are defined as “resistant”) and more resistant to squash bugs. I grew up on home grown zucchini in NY but after moving to MD as an adult both squash bugs and vine borers reek havoc on my zucchini here and I barely get 1 or 2 fruit before the plant dies.
comparing the Korean squash to the tromboncino, the Korean types are earlier to fruit by a week or 2. also flavor wise the tromboncino is less like a zucchini (with the neck having a unique flavor when compared to the bulbus end with the seeds). the Korean types taste more similarly to a zucchini but the flesh is denser, less watery, without being fibrous, with a more pronounced nuttiness or umami flavor. overall I would say the flavor of the Korean types to be an improvement over zucchini. of the Koreans, my wife finds the round ones to be more mild than the straight ones but I can’t tell a difference when they are cooked. when cut, the interior is yellow, and unlike zucchini the seeds stay small, soft, and edible, even when the fruit get very large and overgrown.
as for squash bugs, I still had some issues, but I did close to zero pest management. the only thing I did was trim off the lower leaves within the first 2 feet or so of the ground and mulch the dirt with ez-straw. I did this a bit late in the season and I think if I did it earlier and occasionally sprayed some insecticidal soap on the nymphs, I would have had much fewer issues with the squash bugs.
I would HIGHLY recommend growing all 3 Korean squash varieties and tromboncino squash, especially if you have severe issues with pests like I do.
