That could be earwig damage. Its not just in a line like a crack. Or some other fruit eating bug. Your apples also show signs of stinkbug damage, those greenish cratered spots.

Scott

Thanks Scott. It's great to have experienced folks to run things by. I'll try to stay away from any varieties showing up as especially attractive to insect pests. I think this year I will start spraying the apple trees with Surround too.

Here Goldrush is relatively unattractive to stinkbugs. Nearby trees to my Goldrush were really messed up with those dimples and some off flavor. The GR were fine and most of what's in storage now.

Calyx end cracking is not that uncommon here. It's a recognized problem in the industry. Some varieties are worse than others. Apples here this year had some pretty bad calyx cracking. Below is a pic of a Fuji I just pulled out of the fridge. It has a ring crack, but I had plenty of apples which had split cracks on the calyx end, as your pic shows. These apples were in otherwise perfect condition.

This post was edited by olpea on Mon, Jan 5, 15 at 9:06

Thanks olpea. I was starting to imagine some sort of super-scab...not that stinkbugs aren't bad enough. :) Fortunately the apples taste fine and the bug damage is pretty superficial in the ones we've used so far.

And harvestman, maybe once I plant some more trees the stinkbugs will leave my Goldrush alone. They always seem to know our favorites.