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An apple is the round, edible fruit of an apple tree ( Malus spp.). of the orchard or domestic apple ( Malus domestica), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture worldwide. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancestor, Malus sieversii, is still found. Apples have been grown for thousands of years in Eurasia before they were introduced to North America by European colonists. Apples have cultural significance in many mythological (including Norse mythology and Greek mythology) and (such as Christianity in Europe).
Apples grown from tend to be very different from those of their parents, and the resultant fruit frequently lacks desired characteristics. For commercial purposes, including botanical evaluation, apple are propagated by clonal grafting onto . Apple trees grown without rootstocks tend to be larger and much slower to fruit after planting. Rootstocks are used to control the speed of growth and the size of the resulting tree, allowing for easier harvesting.
There are more than 7,500 cultivars of apples. Different cultivars are bred for various tastes and uses, including cooking apple, eating raw, and cider or apple cider production. Trees and fruit are prone to fungal, bacterial, and pest problems, which can be controlled by a number of organic farming and non-organic means. In 2010, the fruit's genome was DNA sequencing as part of research on disease control and selective breeding in apple production.
The buds are egg-shaped and dark red or purple in color; they range in size from 3 to 5 millimeters, but are usually less than 4 mm. The have very hairy edges. When emerging from the buds, the leaves are , meaning that their edges overlap each other. Leaves can be simple ovals (elliptic leaves), medium or wide in width, somewhat egg-shaped with the wider portion toward their base (ovate leaves), or even with sides that are more parallel to each other instead of curved (oblong leaves) with a narrow pointed end. The edges have broadly-angled teeth, but do not have lobes. The top surface of the leaves are , almost hairless, while the undersides are densely covered in fine hairs. The leaves are attached alternate leaf by short leaf stems long.
Blossoms are produced in spring simultaneously with the budding of the leaves and are produced on spurs and some long shoots. When the flower buds first begin to open the are rose-pink and fade to white or light pink when fully open with each flower in diameter. The five-petaled flowers are group in an inflorescence consisting of a cyme with 3–7 flowers.
The seeds are egg- to pear-shaped and may be colored from light brown or tan to a very dark brown, often with red shades or even purplish-black. They may have a blunt or sharp point.
The five sepals remain attached and stand out from the surface of the apple.The size of the fruit varies widely between cultivars, but generally has a diameter between . The shape is quite variable and may be nearly round, elongated, conical, or short and wide.
The groundcolor of ripe apples is yellow, green, yellow-green or whitish yellow. The overcolor of ripe apples can be orange-red, pink-red, red, purple-red or brown-red. The overcolor amount can be 0–100%.
When first classified by Linnaeus in 1753, the pears, apples, and quinces were combined into one genus that he named Pyrus and he named the apple as Pyrus malus. This was widely accepted, however the botanist Philip Miller published an alternate classification in The Gardeners Dictionary with the apple species separated from Pyrus in 1754. He did not clearly indicate that by Malus pumila he meant the domesticated apple. Nonetheless, it was used as such by many botanists. When Moritz Balthasar Borkhausen published his scientific description of the apple in 1803 it may have been a new combination of P. malus var. domestica, but this was not directly referenced by Borkhausen. The earliest use of var. domestica for the apple was by Georg Adolf Suckow in 1786.
The first whole genome assembly was estimated to contain around 57,000 genes, though the more recent genome sequences support estimates between 42,000 and 44,700 protein-coding genes. The availability of whole genome sequences has provided evidence that the wild ancestor of the cultivated apple most likely is Malus sieversii. Re-sequencing of multiple accessions has supported this, while also suggesting extensive introgression from Malus sylvestris following domestication.
The apple is thought to have been domesticated 4,000–10,000 years ago in the Tian Shan mountains, and then to have travelled along the Silk Road to Europe, with hybridization and introgression of wild crabapples from Siberia ( M. baccata), the Caucasus ( M. orientalis), and Europe ( M. sylvestris). Only the M. sieversii trees growing on the western side of the Tian Shan mountains contributed genetically to the domesticated apple, not the isolated population on the eastern side.
Chinese soft apples, such as Malus asiatica and Malus prunifolia, have been cultivated as dessert apples for more than 2,000 years in China. These are thought to be hybrids between M. baccata and M. sieversii in Kazakhstan.
Among the traits selected for by human growers are size, fruit acidity, color, firmness, and soluble sugar. Unusually for domesticated fruits, the wild M. sieversii origin is only slightly smaller than the modern domesticated apple.
At the Sammardenchia-Cueis site near Udine in Northeastern Italy, seeds from some form of apples have been found in material carbon dated to between 6570 and 5684 BCE.
There is indirect evidence of apple cultivation in the third millennium BCE in the Middle East. There is direct evidence, apple cores, dated to the 10th century BCE from a Judean site between the Sinai and Negev.
There was substantial apple production in European classical antiquity, and grafting was certainly known then. Grafting is an essential part of modern domesticated apple production, to be able to propagate the best cultivars; it is unclear when apple tree grafting was invented.The Roman writer Pliny the Elder describes a method of storage for apples from his time in the 1st century. He says they should be placed in a room with good air circulation from a north facing window on a bed of straw, chaff, or mats with windfalls kept separately. Though methods like this will extend the availabity of reasonably fresh apples, without refrigeration their lifespan is limited. Even sturdy winter apple varieties will only keep well until December in cool climates.
For longer storage medieval Europeans strung up cored and peeled apples to dry, either whole or sliced into rings.Of the many Old World plants that the Spanish introduced to Chiloé Archipelago in the 16th century, apple trees became particularly well adapted. Apples were introduced to North America by colonists in the 17th century, and the first named apple cultivar was introduced in Boston by Reverend William Blaxton in 1640. The only apples native to North America are crab apples.
Apple cultivars brought as seed from Europe were spread along Native American trade routes, as well as being cultivated on colonial farms. An 1845 United States apples nursery catalogue sold 350 of the "best" cultivars, showing the proliferation of new North American cultivars by the early 19th century. In the 20th century, irrigation projects in Eastern Washington began and allowed the development of the multibillion-dollar fruit industry, of which the apple is the leading product.
Until the 20th century, farmers stored apples in Root cellar during the winter for their own use or for sale. Improved transportation of fresh apples by train and road replaced the necessity for storage.
Controlled atmosphere facilities are used to keep apples fresh year-round. Controlled atmosphere facilities use high humidity, low oxygen, and controlled carbon dioxide levels to maintain fruit freshness. They were first researched at Cambridge University in the 1920s and first used in the United States in the 1950s.
Because apples are not true breeders when planted as seeds, propagation usually involves grafting of cuttings. The rootstock used for the bottom of the graft can be selected to produce trees of a large variety of sizes, as well as changing the winter hardiness, insect and disease resistance, and soil preference of the resulting tree. Dwarf rootstocks can be used to produce very small trees (less than high at maturity), which bear fruit many years earlier in their life cycle than full size trees, and are easier to harvest.
Dwarf rootstocks for apple trees can be traced as far back as 300 BCE, to the area of Persia and Asia Minor. Alexander the Great sent samples of dwarf apple trees to Aristotle's Lyceum. Dwarf rootstocks became common by the 15th century and later went through several cycles of popularity and decline throughout the world. The majority of the rootstocks used to control size in apples were developed in England in the early 1900s. The East Malling Research Station conducted extensive research into rootstocks, and their rootstocks are given an "M" prefix to designate their origin. Rootstocks marked with an "MM" prefix are Malling-series cultivars later crossed with trees of 'Northern Spy' in Merton, England.
Most new apple cultivars originate as seedlings, which either arise by chance or are bred by deliberately crossing cultivars with promising characteristics.
Apples have been acclimatized in Ecuador at very high altitudes, where they can often, with the needed factors, provide crops twice per year because of constant temperate conditions year-round.
Apples are self-incompatible; they must Pollination to develop fruit. During the flowering each season, apple growers often utilize to carry pollen. are most commonly used. Osmia lignaria are also used as supplemental pollinators in commercial orchards. Bumblebee queen bee are sometimes present in orchards, but not usually in sufficient number to be significant pollinators.
Cultivars are sometimes classified by the day of peak bloom in the average 30-day blossom period, with pollinizers selected from cultivars within a 6-day overlap period. There are four to seven pollination groups in apples, depending on climate:
One cultivar can be pollinated by a compatible cultivar from the same group or close (A with A, or A with B, but not A with C or D).
Cultivars vary in their yield and the ultimate size of the tree, even when grown on the same rootstock. Some cultivars, if left unpruned, grow very large—letting them bear more fruit, but making harvesting more difficult. Depending on tree density (number of trees planted per unit surface area), mature trees typically bear of apples each year, though productivity can be close to zero in poor years. Apples are harvested using three-point ladders that are designed to fit amongst the branches. Trees grafted on dwarfing rootstocks bear about of fruit per year.
Some farms with apple orchards open them to the public so consumers can pick their own apples.
Crops ripen at different times of the year according to the cultivar. Cultivar that yield their crop in the summer include 'Sweet Bough' and 'Duchess'; fall producers include 'Blenheim'; winter producers include 'King', 'Swayzie', and 'Tolman Sweet'.
For home storage, most culitvars of apple can be stored for three weeks in a pantry and four to six weeks from the date of purchase in a refrigerator that maintains . Some varieties of apples (e.g. 'Granny Smith' and 'Fuji') have more than three times the storage life of others.
Non-organic apples may be sprayed with a substance 1-methylcyclopropene blocking the apples' ethylene receptors, temporarily preventing them from ripening.
A wide range of pests and diseases can affect the plant. Three of the more common diseases or pests are mildew, aphids, and apple scab.
Among the most serious disease problems is a bacterial disease called fireblight, and three fungal diseases: Gymnosporangium rust, black spot, and bitter rot. , and the of fruit flies, cause serious damage to apple fruits, making them unsaleable. Young apple trees are also prone to mammal pests like mice and deer, which feed on the soft bark of the trees, especially in winter. The larvae of the apple clearwing moth (red-belted clearwing) burrow through the bark and into the phloem of apple trees, potentially causing significant damage.
The UK's national fruit collection database contains much information on the characteristics and origin of many apples, including alternative names for what is essentially the same "genetic" apple cultivar. Most of these cultivars are bred for eating fresh (dessert apples), though some are cultivated specifically for cooking () or producing cider. are typically too tart and astringent to eat fresh, but they give the beverage a rich flavor that dessert apples cannot.
In Europe, apple breeding programs are conducted at places such as Julius Kühn-Institut, the German federal research center for cultivated plants.
In the United States there are many apple breeding programs associated with universities. For instance, in the East, Cornell University has had a program operating since 1880 in Geneva, New York, while in the West, Washington State University started a program to support their home state's apple industry in 1994. Released by the University of Minnesota in 1991, the 'Honeycrisp' has become famous for its crispness and juiciness, thereby commanding high market prices. Unusually for a popular cultivar, the 'Honeycrisp' is not directly related to another popular apple cultivar but instead to two unsuccessful cultivars. However, it is also difficult to grow and to store, prompting the industry to seek hybrids that not only appeal to consumers are also less costly for farmers to cultivate and last longer in storage. By the 2020s, about half of the new apple varieties entering the market in the United States and Canada are 'Honeycrisp' progeny. Such hybrids include the 'SweeTango' (a cross between the 'Honeycrisp' and the 'Zestar apple') introduced by the University of Minnesota in 2008 and the 'Cosmic Crisp' (the 'Honeycrisp' and the 'Enterprise') released by Washington State University in 2017.
popular apple cultivars are soft but crisp. Other desirable qualities in modern commercial apple breeding are a colorful skin, absence of Russet apple, ease of shipping, lengthy storage ability, high yields, disease resistance, common apple shape, and developed flavor. Modern apples are generally sweeter than older cultivars, as popular tastes in apples have varied over time. Most North Americans and Europeans favor crunchy, sweet, and subacid apples. Nevertheless, tart apples maintain a strong minority following. In the United States today, the most popular apple varieties are the 'Ambrosia', 'Honeycrisp', and 'Jazz', according Nielsen data, while in Canada, the 'Honeyscrisp', 'Ambrosia', and 'Gala' take the top spots. Together, these relatively newer varieties have overtaken once dominant cultivars like the 'McIntosh' and the 'Red Delicious' in the North American market. Extremely sweet apples with barely any acid flavor are popular in Asia, especially the Indian subcontinent.
Old cultivars are often oddly shaped, russeted, and grow in a variety of textures and colors. Some find them to have better flavor than modern cultivars, but they may have other problems that make them commercially unviable—low yield, disease susceptibility, poor tolerance for storage or transport, or just being the "wrong" size. A few old cultivars are still produced on a large scale, but many have been preserved by home gardeners and farmers that sell directly to local markets. Many unusual and locally important cultivars with their own unique taste and appearance exist; apple conservation campaigns have sprung up around the world to preserve such local cultivars from extinction. In the United Kingdom, old cultivars such as 'Cox's Orange Pippin' and 'Egremont Russet' are still commercially important even though by modern standards they are low yielding and susceptible to disease.
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World production of apples in 2023 was 97 million , with China producing 51% of the total (table). Secondary producers were the United States, Turkey, and Poland.
In other areas, such as the Mediterranean, some individuals have adverse reactions to apples because of their similarity to peaches. This form of apple allergy also includes OAS, but often has more severe symptoms, such as vomiting, abdominal pain and urticaria, and can be life-threatening. Individuals with this form of allergy can also develop reactions to other fruits and nuts. Cooking does not break down the protein causing this particular reaction, so affected individuals cannot eat raw or cooked apples. Freshly harvested, over-ripe fruits tend to have the highest levels of the protein that causes this reaction.
Breeding efforts have yet to produce a hypoallergenic fruit suitable for either of the two forms of apple allergy.
Several techniques are used to preserve apples and apple products. Traditional methods include drying and making apple butter. Juice and cider are produced commercially; cider is a significant industry in regions such as the West of England and Normandy.
A toffee apple (UK) or caramel apple (US) is a confection made by coating an apple in hot toffee or caramel candy respectively and allowing it to cool.
Apples are an important ingredient in many desserts, such as apple pie, , and apple cake. When cooked, some apple cultivars easily form a puree known as apple sauce, which can be cooked down to form a preserve, apple butter. They are often baked or stewed, and are cooked in some meat dishes.
Apples are Cider mill or pressed to produce apple juice, which may be drunk unfiltered (called apple cider in North America), or filtered. Filtered juice is often concentrated and frozen, then reconstituted later and consumed. Apple juice can be fermented to make cider (called hard cider in North America), ciderkin, and vinegar. Through distillation, various alcoholic beverages can be produced, such as applejack, Calvados, and apple brandy.
Davidson notes a connection between apples and the Vanir, a tribe of gods associated with fertility in Norse mythology, citing an instance of eleven "golden apples" being given to woo the beautiful Gerðr by Skírnir, who was acting as messenger for the major Vanir god Freyr in stanzas 19 and 20 of Skírnismál. Davidson also notes a further connection between fertility and apples in Norse mythology in chapter 2 of the Völsunga saga: when the major goddess Frigg sends King Rerir an apple after he prays to Odin for a child, Frigg's messenger (in the guise of a crow) drops the apple in his lap as he sits atop a tumulus. Rerir's wife's consumption of the apple results in a six-year pregnancy and the birth (by Caesarean section) of their son—the hero Völsung.
Further, Davidson points out the "strange" phrase "Apples of Hel" used in an 11th-century poem by the skald Thorbiorn Brúnarson. She states this may imply that the apple was thought of by Brúnarson as the food of the dead. Further, Davidson notes that the potentially Germanic goddess Nehalennia is sometimes depicted with apples and that parallels exist in early Irish stories. Davidson asserts that while cultivation of the apple in Northern Europe extends back to at least the time of the Roman Empire and came to Europe from the Near East, the native varieties of apple trees growing in Northern Europe are small and bitter. Davidson concludes that in the figure of Iðunn "we must have a dim reflection of an old symbol: that of the guardian goddess of the life-giving fruit of the other world."
The Greek goddess of discord, Eris, became disgruntled after she was excluded from the wedding of Peleus and Thetis. In retaliation, she tossed a golden apple inscribed Kallisti ( Kallistē, "For the most beautiful one"), into the wedding party. Three goddesses claimed the apple: Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite. Paris of Troy was appointed to select the recipient. After being bribed by both Hera and Athena, Aphrodite tempted him with the most beautiful woman in the world, Helen of Sparta. He awarded the apple to Aphrodite, thus indirectly causing the Trojan War.
The apple was thus considered, in ancient Greece, sacred to Aphrodite. To throw an apple at someone was to symbolically declare one's love; and similarly, to catch it was to symbolically show one's acceptance of that love. An epigram claiming authorship by Plato states:
Atalanta, also of Greek mythology, raced all her suitors in an attempt to avoid marriage. She outran all but Hippomenes (also known as Melanion, a name possibly derived from melon, the Greek word for both "apple" and fruit in general), who defeated her by cunning, not speed. Hippomenes knew that he could not win in a fair race, so he used three golden apples (gifts of Aphrodite, the goddess of love) to distract Atalanta. It took all three apples and all of his speed, but Hippomenes was finally successful, winning the race and Atalanta's hand.
Renaissance painters may also have been influenced by the story of the in the Garden of Hesperides. As a result, in the story of Adam and Eve, the apple became a symbol for knowledge, immortality, temptation, the fall of man into sin, and sin itself. The larynx in the human throat has been called the "Adam's apple" because of a notion that it was caused by the forbidden fruit remaining in the throat of Adam. The apple as symbol of sexual seduction has been used to imply human sexuality, possibly in an ironic vein.
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