Pear tree pruning....suggestions please

I have no experience of fruit trees and the pruning of, so I am in need of directonal guidance for this here pictured pear tree I have inherited.


Its about 15ft tall. It had 6 pears on it till 3 dropped off in the wind last week. It leans terribly.
And has .......



Canker?

Should I prune the top to try to encourage more fruit next year? Or cut back to below the canker to leave the healthy lower shoot?

All advice gratefully received, before I go and do something drastic to it in november!

Dave

 

Personally I would say it's not worth keeping. It hasn't been well looked after and the canker is either only going to spread, or you'll have to cut the tree back beneath it - which won't leave you with much left. If you want to keep the tree then cut it right back and see what happens. If you lose it then buy another one that you can maintain from scratch. Get a good fruit tree book as well.

 

Tending to agree that its days are numbered. I think I will use it as a training peice that I will prune normally this winter to (try to) encourage more fruit and give me the nouse as to whats what.

Same goes for the 2 cookers and an eating apple tree and what I think is a wild plum. The cookers produced massively but lean terribly and the eater had 1 apple on it!

Big learning curve ahead!