looks like a cherry tree to me Seems like borers have attacked near the base try to dig them out with a knife and a wire

Sometimes a hose-end sprayer can reach that high.

Thanks, Ken. I apologize for the ambiguity as I am a new homeowner. I'll try to provide more helpful information. I live about 15 minutes south of Cincinnati, OH. No, we didn't have a drought last summer. The two most significant weather occurences we suffered were: remnants of Hurricane Ike last fall and a severe ice storm in January. By all outward appearances, neither episode impacted my other young trees. The crabapple did appear to get off to a successful start this spring, sprouting lots of green leaves and berries, but then suddenly took a turn for the worse. I've taken pictures, but I can't figure out how to post them within this message. Do you know how? Again, thank you for your time.

Thanks you all for your assurances about Roundup. I was wondering if that was a little far out. Thanks Ken for your idea of the sapsucker woodpecker. My husband himself was wondering about a bird. There is no sap running at this time, so we'll see how things go. As far as the splits - another conjecture is that the tree is growing so fast that the "skin" is not keeping up. We plant good stock trees with root balls wrapped in burlap in large holes and water well until they are established; then keep up a regular watering schedule. People always comment about how amazingly well our trees do. I am sure it is because of the good soil my husband brought in and the care. SOO it could be unusually fast growth. What do you all think?