The narrow crotch angle shaped like a v on the trunk is a potential problem for breakage that could damage the tree. The tree is large now and trimming off that large v branch at this point is something I would save for winter. To much disease is active now. The trees have to much competition from other shrubs and trees stealing nutrients around the base which I would eliminate ASAP. The leaves look healthy in the picture. Leaves show no signs of disease and the tree has a good fruit load. Long term the tree is in severe need of pruning. When you prune you lose fruit that year but eventually the shape needs fixed because there are structural problems and you are losing fruits every year due to the shape. A tree can carry much more fruit safely when shaped correctly to distribute weight and encourage fruit set. I would add several inches of aged cow manure and then on top of the manure several inches of wood chips around the base to improve fruit set in a circle at least 6 feet in diameter. The tree has some fruit set now but due to all the things mentioned the tree is struggling. Look for bark lesions on the younger branches as well because we want to rule that out. Here is a list of diseases and the causes of some nutrient disorders https://www.apsnet.org/publications/commonnames/Pages/Pear.aspx. There are some pictures in this 2016 post that will give you an idea of how I shape my Drippin honey Asian pears Here comes the 2016 apple and Pear harvest!. Here are more pictures in this thread Drippin' Honey Asian Pear - #24 by clarkinks. You can see from my Asian pear pictures I grow mine upright but keep the branches evenly distributed as much as possible. There are people who grow there’s very different from mine which is just a matter of preference. I believe in pruning early so I don’t need to prune off as much later.
1 Like