Most of my trees are dropping their leaves, or about to.  I don't know what is the general consensus for fertilizing fruit trees this time of year.

Searching the internet, there are some recommendations for trees in general.

Fall Fertilization for Established Trees.  - "Contrary to traditional wisdom, many experts now consider late fall, or about a month after the first killing frost, to be the ideal time for applying fertilizers. "

Fall Fertilizing is Necessary and Extremely Beneficial...  this is in midwest.  "After fall fertilization, the trees are ready for the the spring growing season and will be much healthier looking."

Fertilizing Trees and Shrubs - "Late summer and early fall are the best times to fertilize shrubs and trees. At this point in the year, woody plants make the most efficient use of the fertilizer’s nutrients, which are absorbed when the roots are actively growing and shoot growth has ceased. Research has shown that early-spring growth depends almost exclusively on nutrients that were absorbed and stored the previous year."

Morton Arboretum - "If needed, the best time to fertilize is late April or early May, or late fall once plants are dormant. "

When To Fertilize Apple Trees.  "When additional nitrogen is needed, fertilize in fall, after harvest."

I don't claim to be an expert on fertilizing, but here are a few of my thoughts and experiences.

Some varieties are more subjected to fireblight if they have a burst of growth in the early spring.  Pears, Asian pears, apples, sourwood.  So I don't fertilize them now.  I wait until bloom time for the fruit trees, and spring for the specimen tree.

Some varieties are subjected to frost damage if they break bud early and grow too quickly, too early.  In my Battleground WA yard, that is figs and mulberries.  Grapes, too, but grapes should not get much nitrogen anyway because they put their energies into rank growth if too nitrogen rich.

Some trees respond really well to fertilizing, with much more growth than if I don't fertilize them.  That might help with growth in the first couple of years, especially.   Plums, small pawpaw, small persimmon, maples, cherries.  The negative with persimmons is, I read they drop fruit if they have excessive nitrogen.  Also CFRG.   ( If mature leaves are not deep green and shoot growth is less than a foot per year, apply a balanced fertilizer...)  I don't know if that is true for pawpaws.  So I would either cut back or stop nitrogen fertilizer when they are bearing size.   My Saijo also had early frost damage, so that too might be a reason not to fertilize in fall.  The precaution with sharing this info is my pawpaws and persimmons are very young, and I have yet to get fruit from them.  I want to boost the growth to inrease size more quickly.  The two larger pawpaws bloomed last year and have lots of buds now.  CFRG recomends fertilizing pawpaws twice a year.  I won't fertilize the larger of them now, thinking they do't need more vegetative growth and I don't want to jinx getting fruit if they do set.

I think if a tree is bearing size and putting out reasonable growth, I might not fertilize at all.   I want to keep my fruit trees smaller if I can, so once they are over 6 foot tall, if they look healthy and put out a foot or two of growth, I don't fertilize.

In 2013 I sent off soil sample for testing.  It showed that I don't need to add phosphorus or potassium, but was a little low in calcium and magnesium.  So I added lime and Epsom salts in moderate amounts.  I could have used dolomite lime but already had the regular lime and already had the Epsom salts. 

My grapes have sulked in the ground since planting them 2 years ago, so I will might them some nitrogen this winter for a boost in Spring.  My soil test did not reveal nitrogen amount, the company stated nitrogen is too transient and they provided recommendations based on estimated need.  Growth of weeds and grass in that area was poor, while areas that I fertilized grew very well, so I do think it's the nitrogen was low.  Maples and ginkgos are not fruit trees, but I want further rapid growth early next year, so they will get nitrogen boost this fall too.  With our dry summer climate, I want them to grow as well as possible before dry season sets in.

So that's my thought.  I think fall fertilizing is good for some varieties, or in some situations such as when trees starts are small and a boost of growth is wanted, but I would hold back if I think they are large enough, putting out enough growth already, or if fertilizing might contgribute to fruit drop, especially with bearing-age persimmons.

All experiences and comments are appreviated.  Is I stated, I am not expert.  There is considerable information on the web, but details are often lacking or there is conflicting advice, or the info is not specific for locations and species.