I saw this on the tip of a small branch on my Shinseiki today, does it look like the beginning of FB?
I went ahead and cut it off just to be safe.
I think I will relent on Olympic/Korean Giant. Only because it is a good pollinator for Niitaka.
It’s been a while since I did the research . . . . I avoid any variety (of any species) that is susceptible to fireblight. The last thing I want is a reservoir of disease that may infect the entire orchard.
Among Asian pears, I decided to grow Shinko. In 7-8 years, I’ve seen no sign of a problem on Shinko. Actually, I’ve seen no sign of fireblight in any of my apples or pears.
I grew Shinko for several years. Unfortunately, the fruit were not tasty and on a small size. At the time, a few people in the east coast shared similar experience. So, I got rid of the tree.
People further inland like in the midwest love Shinko. @tonyOmahaz5 loves it. His description was quite diffferent from my experience.
Hopefully, your Shinko will be good for you.
1 Like
Thanks. I’ve had variable results. The crop may require some thinning to produce good size, and the fruit tends to crack. But I picked a couple dozen nice sized fruit last year.
Taste here has been a matter of proper ripening. The fruit may appear ripe here in late August / early September but the flavor is not optimal until much later. I think the taste is excellent, if I have the patience to wait.
In my area, waiting till Sept for Asian pears is nothing. Korean ripens in Oct and Shin Li is in Nov. I consider varieties that ripen in Sept early.
To be clear, I used the words “much later” deliberately. I couldn’t find any pictures of last year’s harvest but I have sone notes that suggest that Shinko ripens here in early October.