I have heard that as well. My soil has quite a bit of clay and most everything tends to grow slow. My trees (not stones) are pretty much care free which lends to your growth theory. Until the cicada damage I didn’t even know what FB looked like. I’ve got 7 bartletts and they have been rock solid trees. No issue 15-20 footers. I think part of disease problem is the amount of pressure in your area. For example if you lived down the street from an apple orchard you might be more likely to see FB.
I just converted a couple Ayers over to Harrow Sweet and Delight. Let’s see what they do for me.