Watersprouts are small limbs that grow vertically from large limbs. They should be removed because they are unlikely to bear fruit and will steal energy from the rest of the tree.
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Excessive watersprouts
Dieback at the crown or top of the tree
Any of these symptoms may occur quickly or progressively and none are guarantees that the tree won't survive.
First brood larvae crawl along trunks and limbs in search of leaves to eat; watersprouts are readily accepted as food. Small larvae feed on leaf undersides near the midrib or large veins, and spin a flimsy web, which expands as the larva grows.
Thereafter: Keep doing the above until you have 3 or 4 sets of scaffold branches. Then simply keep that shape by pruning out watersprouts and any crossing, diseased, or unwanted branches.
Prune. Prune your apple tree every winter before you detect any signs of new growth. Eliminate crossing branches, watersprouts, and crowded growth. The following pointers will help keep pests at bay.
Certainly you will want to learn the basics and practice selective pruning of your fruit trees and shrubs on a yearly basis, removing crossing branches, suckers and watersprouts; opening up and reinvigorating older plants; ...
While that might be fine for a boxwood topiary, on mature trees it's just a form of over-pruning that weakens branches, encourages weak-wood watersprouts and exposes the inner portion of the tree to sunburn.
 See also: Water, Pruning, Plant, Prune, Branch
  
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