A number of diseases can affect apple tree bark - cankers and anthracnose being the most common. Could also be from abiotic sources like sun scald or damage from deer, etc. It's hard to tell from the clarity of the photos provided but the location and appearance look more like a disease issue.

The manner in which the bark has been split down the tree in a line towards the ground it reminds me of a lightning strike, best guess.

We had an unusual winter it was really warm we got into the 70s in February which is very strange here. So I wonder if it was because the weather was so hot than cold.My apple tree is in a really sunny location. Do trees grow back its bark?I love my apple tree

Damage like you're seeing did not happen this last winter. It takes a while after damage is done before the bark would loosen like that. Most likely was the summer before last.

Sunny is good for apples and no the bark is peeling because that branch is dead.

I would properly prune the dead branches later this summer when you can tell which ones are truly dead with no new sprouting occurring.

Is that reddish bark I see on the branch going to the right on your second pic? If so, it may be gummosis.

From Utah State…

”Symptoms in apples are similar but without the amber gumming. Infections result in a reddened color to the bark surface with reddish-brown discoloration of the tissue beneath”.

tj

That's a reasonable diagnosis. And no real cure.

I might still prune up the dead branches and see if you can nurse it along for a while.

And find a place to plant a new apple tree this spring so when the old one goes, and apple trees don't live forever, you'll have one to take its place, in a few years.

We had an unusual winter it was really warm we got into the 70s in February which is very strange here. So I wonder if it was because the weather was so hot than cold.

>>> tree time is counted in decades... your tree is way past its prime.. and has been dying for at least a few years.... at least 5 .....

whatever happened this winter did not 'cause' this serious decline.. but it sure didnt slow it down...

cut the tree flush to the ground... and plant a new one a few feet away ..... if you want an apple tree.. i gave up on fruit production trees long ago.. because i didnt want to mess with spraying the trees 3 to 5 times per year ...

all that said.. what all the guy wires hanging in the tree.. someone practicing highwire walking ..???

ken

I am concerned wth all of the junk hanging all over the tree. What kinds of activities have been going on around this tree?

lol we have a dog and it's some of his old leashes/ rope b4 we put up our fence. My husband put that stuff there when cleaning up the yard and there's a hammock there to I believe he aways set stuff on the trees,probably not good for it

I should have mentioned I will post pics of b4 and after we pruned the tree about 3 years ago. It could have been the first time it ever got pruned because branches were almost touching the ground. After watching a few utube videos I thought we could do some light pruning, when I had stepped away to work on other yard stuff my husband completely chopped a bunch of the tree. I was sure he killed it he probably did.It grew alot that summer though so I thought it was fine

" your tree is way past its prime.. and has been dying for at least a few years.... at least 5 ..... "

I'm not sure I agree with this statement. Apple trees can live and be productive for many decades and we have no idea how old this tree may be with regards to its "prime". They will even live for many years with issues like canker or anthracnose, so a bit of a stretch to say it is dying, although vitality and productivity will decline over time.

ETA: posted before photo of very radical pruning was shown. I doubt that has helped the situation much. It's tough for almost any tree to recover from that severe a pruning. And ditto for all the hanging accoutrements :-)

This was after cutting the first spring the tree only had flowere on part of it

I've seen some pretty aggressive pruning done to some older apple trees and they bore apples for several years afterwards.

I wouldn't plant your new tree in the same spot/area in case it may be a soil borne pathogen of some sort working there.

eta: The only way to find out for sure what's wrong with the tree is to send samples into a laboratory like a local university. To me it's a lot of time & trouble and not worth it unless you find other trees in your yard start to fail that same way. It's an old tree anyways and showing signs of natural decline.

I think I will cut out the dead branches and see how the tree does this year,but I will start thinking about what I could plant in that area for the future

I found a pic of last summer

wow so many apples 🍎