Knowledgebase

What is happening to my Macoun apple tree #923699

Asked January 16, 2026, 2:31 PM EST

Something seems to be going on with my Macoun apple tree this can be seen in the attached picture. This is a mature tree and has been a reliable producer over the years. In this picture you can see that the outer bark is dying off the mature branch. What might be possibly happening with this? Over the past several years I have had some significant fungal problems to address in the spray program. Without spray I see a very early leaf drop due to fungus on the leaves. No other significant diseases have been a problem. Any help is appreciated. Thank you. Jon Tapply Merrimack, NH

Hillsborough County New Hampshire

Expert Response

Hi Jon,

Thank you for contacting the UNH Extension Yard & Garden Infoline. My name is Debi Green. I am a Master Gardener volunteer and I am happy to give you some information that may help identify what is going on with your apple tree.

Diagnosing plant damage can be involved and may take some digging (no pun intended, haha). You mentioned you've had some problems with fungus and have been spraying. Can you recall what the leaves looked like before they fell? Clues such as this will help to narrow down the answers more but I will send you several links to help you diagnose the problem.

Here is an excerpt from the link below that describes some leaf and bark symptoms of Black Rot and Frogeye Leaf Spot: 

"The first signs of black rot are small, purple spots appearing on the upper surfaces of leaves and enlarging into circles 1/8 to 1/4 inch in diameter. Leaf margins remain purple, while the centers turn brown, tan, or yellowish brown, giving the lesions a "frogeye" appearance. Multiple small, black pycnidia (pimplelike fruiting bodies of the fungus) may appear in the centers and can be viewed easily using a hand lens.

Infected areas of branches and limbs are reddish brown and are sunken slightly below the level of surrounding healthy bark. These cankers may expand each year, a few eventually reaching several feet in length. The margins of older cankers are slightly raised and lobed, and the bark within their centers usually turns light-colored, loosens, and scales off raggedly. This characteristic is not confined to black rot cankers, so it is not a good diagnostic symptom. Pycnidia form on dead wood of the cankered areas."

https://extension.psu.edu/pome-fruit-disease-black-rot-and-frogeye-leaf-spot

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There is a lot more great information in that link, including the diseases life cycle and mitigation. 

Below is a comprehensive resource in PDF form. Chapters 4 and 5 deal with disease pathology and diagnosing plant damage.

https://extension.unh.edu/sites/default/files/migrated_unmanaged_files/Resource006378_Rep9131.pdf

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Lastly, it might possibly be unrelated to disease at all and may be caused from sunscald or freezing and thawing.

 "Frost/freeze cracks and sunscald—cracks usually occur on the south or west side of a tree. They are caused partly by differential freezing and thawing of water in trees. Consider painting the trunks and large scaffold branches of young trees with white latex paint. Late summer or early fall pruning or fertilizing makes trees more vulnerable to frost cracks and sunscald injury." 

https://extension.umd.edu/resource/growing-apple-and-pear-trees-home-garden/

I hope these links will help you find the answer to your apple tree issue. If you need further assistance or have more questions, please do not hesitate to reach out again. 


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