Not sure...looks a little dark, time will tell, might be dead bark due to winter injury. Could be sunscalding which happens on the SW side. The split could be due to expansion.

I got one just like it and don't know why.

Some of my plum tree banches did that during last growing season as the were growing and expanding.

Thanks for the replies, everyone! Guess I'll just see how the tree does from here. It was supposed to be a 'Prairie Fire' flowering crab tree, but it produces really good apples! obviously an unknown variety. :)

The lengthwise split in that horizontal branch looks OK to me. It's not exposing live tissue. Bark may split from time to time to accommodate increasing branch girth. The cracked area is covered by a thin layer of bark which will thicken over time.

The base of the trunk... I have no idea how that happened. Looks like a bear has been chewing on it. And it does look like a problem... but I can't make much of a judgement.

Some crab apples are palatable. Are the apples full size?

I think the trunk was covered with snow/ice right up to the point at which the shredding starts.

tlbean, it's a full size apple, REALLY tasty, crisp, and a long keeper! :) The irony is that I purchased it from the Arbor Foundation. You'd think they would know their trees. lol!