Hi folks,

I have posted two photos of two young apple trees he

http://tinyurl.com/qcdu8ar

My questions are stated there too:
1) Can I prune the one in the top phot to encourage it to grow upwards
rather than outwards? If so, How much should I remove from the side
branches? (The tree is about 2m tall and was planted about a year ago.)

2) What are the brown patches on the tree in the second photo? Should I
take remedial action, and if so, what?

Many thanks!

Al