I planted a Conference pear tree four years ago, and it's growing well and blooms profusely, but there's almost no fruit set. Could it be lacking a pollinator? Or is it a soil problem? There are apple trees nearby, but no other pears.
Don't waste energy improving the soil - that's unlikely to help if it's flowering abundantly but there's no fruit set. The problem is really about pollination, and the previous answer was right to point out Conference's self-sterility. Pears are only pollinated by other pears, so apple trees won't do any good here.
But there's a nuance that often gets overlooked: even if you plant a compatible pollinator nearby, it needs to flower at the same time as your Conference. It happens that varieties flower a week or two apart, and bees won't manage to cross-pollinate them. Check what pears your neighbors have growing - maybe there's Williams, Forelle, or Clapp's Favorite nearby? If there's nothing suitable in the area, you'll have to plant your own pollinator.
Practical tip: when you're choosing a pollinator variety, pick one that flowers a bit later than your Conference - that way the odds of flowering overlap are higher. And definitely check compatibility specifically with Conference, not just "pear + pear." Some combinations work better than others. After you plant the pollinator, expect results in at least a year or two - the tree needs time to establish first.
Conference is a self-sterile pear variety, and that's almost certainly your problem. It needs a pollinator of a different, compatible variety. Apple trees won't help here - pears are only pollinated by pears. Bees can fly from far away, but if there are no other pear trees nearby, you'll get minimal fruit set or none at all, even with abundant flowering.
The solution is simple: plant another pear variety as a pollinator next to it. For Conference, varieties like Williams, Beurré Bosc, Forest Beauty, or other summer-autumn pears work well. You don't even need a mature tree - a young sapling will pollinate in just a year or two. If space is tight, you can graft a cutting of a different variety directly onto your pear tree, though this method is more complicated.
Soil and fertilizer are a secondary issue. Of course, depleted soil won't help, but if the tree is growing well, nutrition is more or less fine. Check the drainage (pears don't like waterlogging), but first and foremost solve the pollinator problem - that's what will give you results.
If you've already figured out that you need a pollinator, it makes sense to choose a pear that blooms at the same time as Conférence, otherwise even a compatible variety won't help. Williams, Liubimitza Klappa, or Bere Bosc work best - they're proven varieties and easy to find in nurseries. You can also graft a cutting of a compatible variety onto one of the branches of your mature tree if you don't want to plant another one.
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