I would not be afraid to try either in a no spray orchard. Black Amish is the most beautiful of the black apples we grow. I don’t recall FB on the Black Amish mature trees but did see a couple strikes on BA the nursery (laid down a ton of manure) Swiss had great flavor this year and I have not noticed any Disease issues with Swiss. I continue to slowly document information on varieties as I find time: Apple Database.xlsx - Google Sheets
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Not sure how many permaculture folks are interested but there might be another approach worth trying if the methods that you have read about, or experts say to do isnt working.
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Despite claims of resistance or moderate resistance elsewhere, there are reports in this thread of Arkansas Black being susceptible to blight in Texas, Virginia and Massachusetts. Add Kentucky. My fourth leaf Arkansas Black on M111 is lousy with it. Burford in Apples of North America also notes that Arkansas Black is susceptible to FB (and scab).
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Its “resistance” may be to dying from blight, not to getting it in the first place. Like King David some places.
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Yes. Apples have 2 strategies for fireblight resistance. Bloom and Shoot resistance. Rarely both types. And nothing stays resistant. It is often cyclic.
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I’m going to second Chestnut for its general disease resistance. On FB specifically I’ve never had a strike on the tree even when others around it take hard strikes. Rusts love it which is annoying, mars the fruit and leaves, but the tree is generally unphased and its easy to prevent with well timed spray. Plus the fruit is delicious.
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Sounds like Shockley. Moderate CAR susceptibility. But avoids other diseases generally.
The strains may be locality specific. I had to cut back a good length of a young Sundance this year due to FB. Most of what I read prior to planting it rated it as highly resistant which is why I picked it in the first place. Or it could be the health & age, 2nd year in the ground, of that specific tree. FB is a pain in the a$$. I don’t spray antibiotics so its uphill.
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Agreed. I have plenty of 'Highly Susceptible" varieties that never got fireblight apart from strikes. Unless an apple is bred with polygenic resistance traits; I pay ratings little mind. Red Delicious! The ratings are all over the place on it and it’s strains.