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   Apple info - recipes - fun facts CLASSIFICATION
DESCRIPTION Apple is the fruit (pome) of the genus Malus belonging to the family Rosaceae, and is one of the most widely cultivated tree fruits. Table apples are of the species M. domestica or hybrids of it. HISTORY The wild ancestor of Malus domestica is Malus sieversii (which has no common name), a tree still found wild in the mountains of central Asia in southern Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Xinjiang Province, China. Researchers are working with M. sieversii, which is resistant to many diseases and pests, in order to create more disease-resistant domestic apples. Other species that were previously thought to have made contributions to the genome of the domestic apples are Malus baccata and Malus sylvestris, but there is no hard evidence for this in older apple cultivars. These and other Malus species have been used in some recent breeding programmes to develop apples suitable for growing in climates unsuitable for M. domestica, mainly for increased cold tolerance. Apples have been a very important food in all cooler climates, and is probably the earliest tree to be cultivated. To a greater degree than other tree fruit, except possibly citrus, apples store for months while still retaining much of their nutritive value. Winter apples, picked in late autumn and stored just above freezing have been an important food in Asia and Europe for millennia, and the United States since the arrival of Europeans. CULTIVARS or VARIETIES There are more than 7,500 known cultivars of apples. Different cultivars are available for temperate and subtropical climates. Apples do not flower in tropical climates because they have a chilling requirement. Commercially-popular apple cultivars are soft but crisp. Other desired in modern commercial apple breeding are a colorful skin, absence of russeting, ease of shipping, lengthy storage ability, high yields, disease resistance, typical "Red Delicious" apple shape, long stem (to allow pesticides to penetrate the top of the fruit), and popular flavor. Old cultivars are often oddly shaped, russeted, and have a variety of textures and colors. Many of them have excellent flavour (often better than most modern cultivars), but may have other problems which make them commercially unviable, such as low yield, liability to disease, or poor tolerance for storage or transport. Few old cultivars are still produced on a large scale, but many have been kept alive by home gardeners and farmers that sell directly to local markets. Many unusual and locally important cultivars with their own unique flavor and appearance are out there to discover; apple conservation campaigns have sprung up around the world to preserve such local heirlooms from extinction. Although most cultivars are bred for eating fresh (dessert apples), some are cultivated specifically for cooking (culinary apples) or producing cider. Cider apples are typically too tart and astringent to eat fresh, but they give the beverage a rich flavor that dessert apples cannot. CULTIVATION or GARDENING Apple orchards are established by planting two or three year old trees. These small trees are usually purchased from a nursery where they are produced by grafting or budding. First, a rootstock is produced either as a seedling or cloned using tissue culture or layering. This is allowed to grow for a year. Then, a small section of branch called a scion is obtained from a mature apple tree of the desired cultivar. The upper stem and branches of the rootstock are cut away and replaced with the scion. In time, the two sections grow together and produce a healthy tree. Rootstocks affect the ultimate size of the tree. While many rootstocks are available to commercial grower, those sold to homeowners who want just a few trees are usually one of two cultivars: a standard seedling rootstock that gives a full-size tree, or a semi-dwarf rootstock that produces a somewhat smaller tree. Dwarf rootstocks are generally more susceptible to damage from wind and cold. Full dwarf trees are often supported of posts or trellises and planted in high density orchards which are much simpler to culture and greatly increase productivity per unit of land. Some trees are produced with a dwarfing "interstem" between a standard rootstock and the tree, resulting in two grafts. After the small tree is planted in the orchard, it must grow for 3-5 years (semi-dwarf) or 4-10 years (standard trees) before it will bear sizable amounts of fruit. Good training of limbs and careful nipping of buds growing in the wrong places, are extremely important during this time, to build a good scaffold that will later support a fruit load. HEALTH BENEFITS Apples have been proven to reduce the risk of colon cancer, prostate cancer and lung cancer. They can also help with heart disease, weight loss and controlling cholesterol. RELATED FRUITS RELATED LINKS |
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