Keiffer pears are unbeatable for deer. However, Keiffer's aren't a preferred pear for fresh eating, but are decent for canning.
For apples id consider Liberty or Enterprise for a good, disease resistant apple for deer. Crabapples are also easy to start, quick to produce, and very disease resistant. My favorite crabs are Eliza's Choice and Transcendent.
Do you spray your pear trees?I planted an orchard of 30 apple trees and 3 pears in 2016. If I had it to do over again there wouldn't be any apples at all. And I LOVE to eat apples. Between Japanese beetles and diseases I'd much rather plant pears for wildlife in central Va.
My Keiffers and Korean Giant have been spotless so far and the bugs don't bother them
Search on here to find Native Hunter's fruit tree list, and I would go with the pears.
Japanese beetles might not be too bad there, but with how they are for me I won't ever plant apples large-scale again. Pears & Persimmons for me.
My $0.02
ThanksI bumped up my thread in the fruit tree section for you.
No sir, I don't have to spray them at allDo you spray your pear trees?
Do you fertilize your Kieffers? The only time I've seen blight on mine is when I heavily fertilized them. Now, I don't fertilize at all.Kieffer pear trees are my " go to " pear . I do get some fire blight in them . I cut the affected branches out in the winter .
I probably have 10 different types of pear trees on the farm . The only one that I have not seen fire blight on is the Ayres .