The apple industry uses Manchurian crab as a pollinizer because of its compatibility with the major apple varieties. This Manchurian is pictured in a Gala orchard. Scientists are recommending that the Washington apple industry look for alternatives to Manchurian crab, the predominant pollinizer, because it is a host of ­fungal pathogens of quarantine concern. Trouble is, no studies have been done in the past 30 years to find other pollinizers that would fit the industry’s needs. Ken Adams, president of Willow Drive Nursery in Ephrata, Washington, said that before the 1980s, when most of the apples grown in Washington were […]