Apple Fruit

Apple was the most widely cultivated fruit in sub tropical area as fruit tree. Apple (genus Malus of the family Rosaceae) is the second only to the grape in its importance as a temperate zone fruit. One of the oldest of cultivated fruit varieties have been propagated for at least 2.000 years in Europe alone. Today about 7.500 varieties are grown worldwide, and about 2.500 can be found in the United States.

Apple grown for commercial use are generally classified as Cider Apple, grown chiefly for their juice, as cooking apple or as eating apples. Size, sweetness, aroma, and crispness vary greatly from one variety to another, and color ranges from shades of red to yellow or green. Smaller crab apple species of the genus Malus may also eaten.

Trees are propagated by grafting or by budding. A 2 years old tree, transplanted from nursery to orchard, may take up to 8 years to produce a commercial crop. Although traditional orchards have full-green tree, a newer trend is to graft branches bearing full size fruit unto dwaft trees and train the branches against a trellis. This method allows more trees to be planted per hectare. Apple trees require careful pruning during the first 5 years of growth and seasonal protection from pest and parasites.

Apple are usually harvested when fully ripe, because immature apples ripen poorly after picking. Fruit stored at temperature below freezing and high humidity, however, apple will remain fresh up to 10 months. Modern large scale storage techniques enable some apple growers to maintain a year round market for their produce. The Rusian, United States, and France harvest the largest apple crops. Western Europe as a whole produces more apple than does any other region, Argentina, Chile, and Japan are also important Apple producer.