You mentioned that your trees had cedar apple rust; did they also have a heavy fruit load? Many fruit trees exhibit a condition called alternate bearing. The trees set a large crop of fruit one year, followed by alternating years of few fruit. This is not a disease but a physiological condition that can be remedied by thinning some of the fruit during a heavy fruit year. The cedar apple rust may also have contributed to a poor fruit crop the following year by interfering with the tree's ability to photosynthesize or make food for next year's blooms and fruit. You are following good practices by using fungicides in the spring. Even though you removed the cedar in your yard, those on neighboring property could also contribute to the disease.

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