Showcasing the apple as a symbol of sin.Albrecht Dürer, 1507]]
Atalanta, also of Greek mythology, raced all her suitors in an attempt to avoid marriage. She outran all but Hippomenes (a.k.a. Melanion, a name possibly derived from melon the Greek word for both "apple" and fruit in general), Different cultivars are available for temperate and subtropical climates. One large collection of over 2,100 apple cultivars is housed at the National Fruit Collection in England. Most of these cultivars are bred for eating fresh (dessert apples), though some are cultivated specifically for cooking (cooking apples) or producing cider. Cider apples are typically too tart and astringent to eat fresh, but they give the beverage a rich flavour that dessert apples cannot.
Commercially popular apple cultivars are soft but crisp. Other desired qualities in modern commercial apple breeding are a colourful skin, absence of russeting, ease of shipping, lengthy storage ability, high yields, disease resistance, typical 'Red Delicious' apple shape, and popular flavour. Modern apples are generally sweeter than older cultivars, as popular tastes in apples have varied over time. Most North Americans and Europeans favour sweet, subacid apples, but tart apples have a strong minority following. and especially India.
Apple production
Apple breeding
variety]]
In the wild, apples grow quite readily from seeds. However, like most perennial fruits, apples are ordinarily propagated asexually by
grafting. This is because seedling apples are an example of "
extreme heterozygotes", in that rather than inheriting DNA from their parents to create a new apple with those characteristics, they are instead different from their parents, sometimes radically.
Triploids have an additional reproductive barrier in that the 3 sets of chromosomes cannot be divided evenly during meiosis, yielding unequal segregation of the chromosomes (aneuploids). Even in the very unusual case when a triploid plant can produce a seed (apples are an example), it happens infrequently, and seedlings rarely survive. Most new apple cultivars originate as seedlings, which either arise by chance or are bred by deliberately crossing cultivars with promising characteristics.
Breeders can produce more rigid apples through crossing. For example, the Excelsior Experiment Station of the University of Minnesota has, since the 1930s, introduced a steady progression of important hardy apples that are widely grown, both commercially and by backyard orchardists, throughout Minnesota and Wisconsin. Its most important introductions have included 'Haralson' (which is the most widely cultivated apple in Minnesota), 'Wealthy', 'Honeygold', and 'Honeycrisp'.
Apples have been acclimatized in Ecuador at very high altitudes, where they provide crops twice per year because of constant temperate conditions in a whole year.
For home storage, most varieties of apple can be held for approximately two weeks when kept at the coolest part of the refrigerator (i.e. below 5°C). Some types, including the Granny Smith and Fuji, can be stored up to a year without significant degrade.
Pests and diseases
damage]]
The trees are susceptible to a number of
fungal and
bacterial diseases and
insect pests. Many commercial orchards pursue an aggressive program of chemical sprays to maintain high fruit quality, tree health, and high yields. A trend in orchard management is the use of organic methods. These use a less aggressive and direct methods of conventional farming. Instead of spraying potent chemicals, often shown to be potentially dangerous and maleficent to the tree in the long run,
organic methods include encouraging or discouraging certain cycles and pests.
To control a specific pest, organic growers might encourage the prosperity of its natural predator instead of outright killing it, and with it the natural biochemistry around the tree. Organic apples generally have the same or greater taste than conventionally grown apples, with reduced cosmetic appearances.
Apple scab: Symptoms of scab are olive-green or brown blotches on the leaves.
Among the most serious disease problems are fireblight, a bacterial disease; and Gymnosporangium rust, and black spot, two fungal diseases.
In the United States, more than 60% of all the apples sold commercially are grown in Washington state. Imported apples from New Zealand and other more temperate areas are competing with US production and increasing each year.
Most of Australia's apple production is for domestic consumption. Imports from New Zealand have been disallowed under quarantine regulations for fireblight since 1921.
The largest exporters of apples in 2006 were China, Chile, Italy, France and the U.S., while the biggest importers in the same year were Russia, Germany, the UK and the Netherlands.
Human consumption
Apples are often eaten raw; excepting the seeds, which are slightly poisonous (see below), the whole fruit including the skin is suitable for human consumption. Varieties bred for this purpose are termed dessert or
table apples.
Apples can be canned or juiced. They are milled to produce apple cider (non-alcoholic, sweet cider) and filtered for apple juice. The juice can be fermented to make cider (alcoholic, hard cider), ciderkin, and vinegar. Through distillation, various alcoholic beverages can be produced, such as applejack, Calvados,
Sliced apples turn brown with exposure to air due to the conversion of natural phenolic substances into melanin upon exposure to oxygen. Sliced fruit can be treated with acidulated water to prevent this effect. Organic production is difficult in Europe, though a few orchards have done so with commercial success, or juice, thus letting multiply.
On the other hand, if the apples are eaten unprocessed, and kept free from risk of contamination with animal feces, then eating fallen apples is generally safe, even if there is some general decay or worms in them. Still, they may be submerged in water with salt added, which kills the worms. Because the pollen is the main irritant, only the raw apples, especially their skin, cause the allergic reaction. Cooked apples do not cause these symptoms as the heat denatures the proteins in the pollen, rendering them harmless to those sensitive. If one is allergic to apples, he or she may also experience an allergic reaction with other fruits in the Rosaceae family, such as peaches. The fiber content, while less than in most other fruits, helps regulate bowel movements and may thus reduce the risk of colon cancer. They may also help with heart disease,
There is evidence that in vitro apples possess phenolic compounds which may be cancer-protective and demonstrate antioxidant activity.
However, apple seeds are mildly poisonous, containing a small amount of amygdalin, a cyanogenic glycoside; it usually is not enough to be dangerous to humans, but can deter birds.
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External links
Apple Facts from the UK's Institute of Food Research
National Fruit Collection (UK)
Brogdale Farm (home of the UK's National Fruit Collection)
Tree Guide - Lodi Apple
Tree Guide - Red Delicious Apple
Tree Guide - Jonathan Apple
Tree Guide - Winesap Apple
Tree Guide - Yellow Delicious
Grand Valley State University digital collections- diary of Ohio fruit farmer Theodore Peticolas, 1863
Category:Maleae
Category:Sequenced genomes
