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nafex - Re: [NAFEX] Quince flavor

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  • From: Douglas Woodard <dwoodard@becon.org>
  • To: North American Fruit Explorers <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Quince flavor
  • Date: Thu, 04 Dec 2008 13:21:34 -0500

The question of whether quince rootstock increases the susceptibilty of pear scions to fireblight has been controversial in the Niagara Peninsula.

Expert opinion has concluded that the incidents which aroused concern were the result of careless management by large grape growers who didn't take the trouble to learn or train their staff about how to manage fireblight when they planted dwarf pears.

Although quince itself is highly susceptible to fireblight, quince rootstock actually seems to *decrease* pear susceptibilty to fireblight here because it eliminates the secondary blossom which is a major route for fireblight infection. All the quince that is exposed on a typical dwarf tree is a few inches of rootstock between the soil and the pear scion or interstem. There are almost never any sprouts from it that might produce soft new growth susceptible to fireblight infection, and it is not often wounded.

Doug Woodard
St. Catharines, Ontario



Donna &/or Kieran wrote:

[snip]

When I asked about the problem of fireblight in quinces for rootstock for pear, Annie Black said quince has it's problems, but in their location fireblight doesn't seem to be one of them. They have not only the heat and humidity that I contend with, but also poor air circulation.

[snip]




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