Question
Hello David,
Just lately I noticed all the leaves on my Asian pear tree has rust-like spots and all the tiny fruits have dropped.  What is the disease and what should I do to prevent this problem next year?  Thanks for your input.

Answer
The disease could be a type of cedar-quince rust.  If the fruits had some funny looking orange tentacle type fungal structures coming from them, I would say that is defintely what the pear tree has.  Spots on the leaves could also be other fungal diseases with no fruit symptoms.  I would treat the tree at first bud break next year with Maneb or Hi-Yield Copper Fungicide.  It is important to get the preventative sprays on, because pears, apples, peaches are all susceptible to fungal problems which will usually cause fruit defoliation later in the growing season.  You will need to treat the tree at least three times say 2-3 weeks apart.  I hope this helps fix the problem for next year.  Thanks.