Keepitlow, I'm not sure they're increasing on a global scale, it's just that societies are much more mobile now, and bring pests along with them, so that there is a larger diversity of pests here. A couple more imported pests that come to mind are Japanese beetles introduced in the early 1900s, and the very recently introduced spotted wing drosophila fly. Once introduced, it has generally taken a long time for some of these pests to become omnipresent. Codling moth, even though introduced with the first settlers, didn't find it's way to Kansas until 1850. Japanese beetles, even though introduced 90 years ago, are still not found in all KS counties today. However, in the future with our society even more mobile, it may take less time for these newly introduced pests to fully disseminate. OFM has become more of a problem due to mutation. Originally it was exclusively a stone fruit pest. In recent years it has become a pest in commercial apple orchards as well. I've also read it can be a problem in some home orchards where there are lots of stone fruit and apples planted together. To the naked eye, the larva are indistinguishable from CM. Lastly, introduced pests are not limited to fruit. Bedbugs have been practically unheard of here for half a century. Remember the old adage, "sleep tight and don't let the bedbugs bite"? That came from a time when people slept on hanging rope beds. Bedbugs could be somewhat thwarted by tightening up the ropes to prevent the bed from touching the floor. In recent times some hotels (even nice ones) have had problems with bedbugs being reintroduced from overseas travelers. That'd be a case where I'm going to kill some nature, and feel really good about it.

hey! since you just moved in.. i am going to talk about the prior owner.. and you should take none of it personally ... looking at the first pic.. i see nearly no landscape ... and i am going to bet.. they bought a rather large transplant.. from the bigboxstore.. a few years back.. planted it [i too wonder if it is telephone poled .. no root flare at the ground] ..... i am going to guess ... it was pot bound.. and they did little than dig a hole and stick it in .. and water it at planting .. i am further going to guess ... that they did little if no PROPER followup in regard to PROPER WATERING .... for the 2 or 3 years a large transplant would require ... plus throw in drought if any over that period ... all that resulting in lack of proper moisture.. thru the ensuing few years ... resulting in sunscald.. on the south facing side of the tree ... and if all the above were true.. improper pruning leading to.. or complicating more bark damage ... there!! .. that is just about everything i can think of.. as to what might have caused the problem ... BTW.. ants DO not harm an otherwise healthy tree ... at worst they mess with other bugs.. 'milking' aphids of honeydew' e.g. ... and for sure.. a couple means nothing.. they are just surveying their domain ... what can you do??? .. not much.. trees heal themselves.. if you can restore vigor thru proper watering.. "feeding" it.. will not make a difference.. it is not a child ... besides the fact that the rather weed free lawn tells me.. it is probably fertilized ... so the tree needs nothing else ... if vigor were to return.. it can heal itself thru compartmentalization .... [thats my long word for the day ... lol ..] but if the tree is not proper for your area.. as noted above.. whats the point ... be done with it ... cut it to the ground.. do your research for something new.. and plant it a few feet off to the side ... unless you really want to find out what is going on underground.. simply for the sake of knowledge ... then dig it up.. so you can replant in the same hole ... good luck with your new house ... presumably.. you redid the interior to your taste.. so lets redo this tree.. to your taste.. rather than spending the next decade.. 'dealing' with it.. ken

Reading your posting the most likely cause is freeze damage from this past winter. This would be a good time of the year to remove the damage by pruning down to green wood, Another cause could be sun burn. Also in viewing the photos the leaves appear to be very healthy, leading me to believe this tree has been welled cared for. Tom

I haven't been on GW in a very long time and am just getting back into gardening as the weather in Brisbane improves. I planted an apple tree in a nature strip a year or two ago, but I had to abandon the patch when a neighbour trashed the site with branches and prunings to discourage me from gardening there. Today, I went back and dug up the tree to plant in my courtyard. The tree had been growing in long guinea grass and still had bougainvillea prunings strewn over its branches. After I had planted it in its new hole, I noticed there was a soft rotting area of bark where the grass had been trapped by the prunings. When I rubbed away the soft outer bark, sections of the wood had been progressively exposed. The section of affected wood is on the trunk above the graft. I suspect this is collar rot or canker? The wound mostly looks like a large split running down the trunk and exposing inner sections of the wood, surrounded by the soft bark. The tree seems otherwise healthy, vigourous growth, and it has its leaves out, even in July. What do I need to do to treat the wound? Even if the wound does not seem to be affecting the apple tree's health now, could it shorten its life or cause problems later on? Corey