Mid trunk.

See insect on left of trunk.

Up higher on trunk.

Is it getting enough light? The bottom half dying out is often caused by lack of light. The tree otherwise looks OK; the marks on the trunk look like old wounds mostly healed. You might have a problem at the base which is reducing the vigor; check for signs of peach tree borer there (sap gel).

Scott

Thanks, Scott. The tree gets plenty of sun, and I dug around the base to see if there were borers or goo. Nothing. We have had it for 7 years and it has been a beautiful bloomer. Last year, it started looking puny and its leaves were dropping. It looked like something was eating the leaves, but I couldn't find anything on the leaves. I hope someone can help!

Did the leaves have little holes in them? Search bacterial spot in Google and look at the pictures. This disease is very common and it can lead to trees with reduced vigor if you get it badly.

Scott

the leaves did have little holes in them. some of them curled and fell off. I will look at the description for bacterial spot.