Well I lied, I copied amd pasted it off Wikipedia. Enjoy (:
Apple
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This
article is about the fruit. For the electronics and software company, see Apple
Inc.. For other uses, see Apple
(disambiguation).
Apple
Blossoms, fruits,
and leaves of the apple tree (Malus domestica)
Scientific
classification
Kingdom:
Plantae
Division:
Magnoliophyta
Class:
Magnoliopsida
Order:
Rosales
Family:
Rosaceae
Subfamily:
Maloideae
Tribe:
Maleae
Genus:
Malus
Species:
M.
domestica
Binomial
name
Malus domesticaBorkh.
The
apple is the pomaceous fruit of the apple tree, species Malus
domestica in the rose
family Rosaceae. It is one of the most
widely cultivated tree fruits. The tree
is small and deciduous, reaching 3 to 12
metres (9.8 to 39 ft) tall, with a broad, often densely twiggy crown.[1] The leaves are alternately arranged
simple ovals 5 to 12 cm long and 3–6 centimetres (1.2–2.4 in) broad on
a 2 to 5 centimetres (0.79 to 2.0 in) petiole with an acute
tip, serrated margin and a slightly downy underside. Blossoms are produced in spring
simultaneously with the budding of the leaves. The flowers are white with a pink
tinge that gradually fades, five petaled, and 2.5 to 3.5
centimetres (0.98 to 1.4 in) in diameter. The fruit matures in autumn, and
is typically 5 to 9 centimetres (2.0 to 3.5 in) diameter. The center of the
fruit contains five carpels arranged in a five-point star, each
carpel containing one to three seeds.[1]
The tree
originated from Central Asia, where its
wild ancestor is still found today. There are more than 7,500 known cultivars of
apples resulting in range of desired characteristics. Cultivars vary in their yield and the ultimate
size of the tree, even when grown on the same rootstock.[2]
At
least 55 million tonnes of apples were grown worldwide in 2005, with a
value of about $10 billion. China
produced about 35% of this total.[3] The United
States is the second leading producer, with more than 7.5% of the world
production. Turkey, France, Italy and Iran are also among the leading
apple exporters.
Contents[hide]
1 Botanical
information
2
History
3
Cultural aspects
3.1 Germanic
paganism
3.2 Greek
mythology
3.3
Christianity
4 Apple cultivars
5 Apple
production
5.1 Apple breeding
5.2 Pollination
5.3
Maturation and harvest
5.4 Storage
5.5 Pests and
diseases
6
Commerce
7 Human
consumption
7.1 Fallen apples
8 Health
benefits
9
References
10 External links
//
Botanical information
Wild Malus sieversii apple in Kazakhstan
Main article: Malus sieversii
See
also: List
of Lepidoptera that feed on apple trees and Fruit tree
propagation
The wild ancestor of Malus domestica is Malus sieversii, which
is found growing wild in the mountains of Central Asia in southern
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan,
and Xinjiang, China.[4]
History
See also: Herefordshire
Pomona
The center of diversity of the genus Malus is the eastern Turkey. The apple
tree was perhaps the earliest tree to be cultivated,[5] and its
fruits have been improved through selection over thousands of years. Alexander the Great
is credited with finding dwarfed apples in Asia Minor in 300 BCE;[1] those
he brought back to Macedonia might have been the progenitors of dwarfing
rootstocks. Winter apples, picked in late autumn and stored just above freezing,
have been an important food in Asia and Europe for millennia, as well as
in Argentina and in the United
States since the arrival of
Europeans.[5] Apples were
brought to North America with
colonists in the 1600s,[1] and the first
apple orchard on the North American continent was said to be near Boston in
1625. In the 1900s, irrigation projects in Washington state began and allowed
the development of the multi-billion dollar fruit industry, of which the apple
is the leading species.[1]
Cultural aspects
Main
article: Apple
(symbolism)
Germanic paganism
"Brita
as Iduna" (1901) by Carl Larsson.
In Norse mythology, the
goddess Iðunn
is portrayed in the Prose Edda (written in the
13th century by Snorri Sturluson) as
providing apples to the gods that give them eternal youthfulness.
English scholar H. R. Ellis
Davidson links apples to religious practices in Germanic paganism,
from which Norse paganism developed.
She points out that buckets of apples were found in the Oseberg ship burial site in Norway and that
fruit and nuts (Iðunn having been described as being transformed into a nut in Skáldskaparmál)
have been found in the early graves of the Germanic peoples in England and
elsewhere on the continent of Europe which may have had a symbolic meaning, and
that nuts are still a recognized symbol of fertility in Southwest
England.[6]
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 mound.[7]
Rerir's wife's consumption of the apple results in a six-year pregnancy and the caesarean section
birth of their son - the hero Völsung.[8]
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 the skald 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."[6]
Greek mythology
Heracles with
the apple of Hesperides
Apples appear
in many religious traditions,
often as a mystical or forbidden fruit. One of
the problems identifying apples in religion, mythology and folktales is that the word
"apple" was used as a generic term for all (foreign) fruit, other than berries
but including nuts, as late as the 17th century.[9] For instance,
in Greek mythology, the Greek hero Heracles, as a part of his Twelve
Labours, was required to travel to the Garden of the Hesperides and pick the
golden apples off the Tree
of Life growing at its center.[10][11][12]
The Greek
goddess of discord, Eris, became
disgruntled after she was excluded from the wedding of Peleus and Thetis.[13] In retaliation,
she tossed a golden apple inscribed Καλλιστή (Kalliste, sometimes
transliterated Kallisti, '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.
Adam and
EveShowcasing 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),[11]
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.[10]
Christianity
Though the forbidden
fruit in the Book of Genesis is not
identified, popular Christian tradition has
held that it was an apple that Eve coaxed Adam
to share with her.[14] This may
have been the result of Renaissance painters adding
elements of Greek mythology into
biblical scenes. In this case the unnamed fruit of Eden became an apple
under the influence of story of the golden apples 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. In Latin,
the words for "apple" and for "evil" are similar in the singular
(malus—apple, malum—evil) and identical in the plural (mala). This may also have
influenced the apple becoming interpreted as the biblical "forbidden fruit". The larynx in the human
throat has been called Adam's apple because of a
notion that it was caused by the forbidden fruit sticking in the throat of
Adam.[14] The apple
as symbol of sexual seduction has been used to imply sexuality between men,
possibly in an ironic vein.[14] The idea
of an apple being the fruit of the Tree
of the Knowledge of Good and Evil with English speakers may
have been helped by the fact that apple could also be a generic word for fruit
in Old
English, the word being used in various commentaries on Genesis.[citation
needed]
Apple
cultivars
See List of apple
cultivars for a listing.
Different
kinds of apple cultivars in a supermarket
'Sundown'
apple cultivar and its cross section
There are more than 7,500 known cultivars of
apples. Different cultivars are available for temperate and subtropical climates.
Reputedly the world's biggest collection of apple cultivars is housed at the
National Fruit Collection in England.[2] 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.[15]
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, long stem (to allow pesticides to penetrate the
top of the fruit), and popular flavour.[2] 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.[16]
Extremely sweet apples with barely any acid flavour are popular in Asia[16] and
especially India.[15]
Old
cultivars are often oddly shaped, russeted, and have a variety of textures and
colours. Some find them to have a better flavour than modern cultivators,[17] but may
have other problems which make them commercially unviable, such as low yield,
liability to disease, or poor tolerance for storage or transport. A 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 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 Russett are still
commercially important even though by modern standards they are low yielding and
disease prone.[1]
Apple production
"Apple
Blossom" redirects here. For other uses, see Apple Blossom
(disambiguation).
Apple
breeding
Apple
blossom from an old Ayrshire variety
Like most
perennial fruits, apples ordinarily propagate asexually by grafting. 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.[18] Most new apple
cultivars originate as seedlings, which either arise by chance or are bred by
deliberately crossing cultivars with promising characteristics.[19] The words
'seedling', 'pippin', and 'kernel' in the name of an apple cultivar suggest that
it originated as a seedling. Apples can also form bud sports (mutations on a
single branch). Some bud sports turn out to be improved strains of the parent
cultivar. Some differ sufficiently from the parent tree to be considered new
cultivars.[20]
Breeders
can produce more rigid apples through crossing.[21] 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.[22]
Pollination
See also: Fruit tree
pollination
Apple tree in
flower
Apples are self-incompatible; they must cross-pollinate to develop
fruit. During the flowering each season, apple growers usually provide pollinators
to carry the pollen. Honeybee hives are most
commonly used. Orchard mason bees are also
used as supplemental pollinators in commercial orchards. Bumble bee queens
are sometimes present in orchards, but not usually in enough quantity to be
significant pollinators.[20]
There
are four to seven pollination groups in apples depending on climate:
Group A
– Early flowering, May 1 to 3 in England (Gravenstein, Red Astrachan)
Group B – May 4 to 7 (Idared, McIntosh)
Group C – Mid-season flowering, May 8 to 11 (Granny Smith, Cox's Orange
Pippin)
Group D – Mid/Late season flowering, May 12 to 15 (Golden Delicious,
Calville blanc d'hiver)
Group E – Late flowering, May 16 to 18 (Braeburn,
Reinette d'Orléans)
Group F – May 19 to 23 (Suntan)
Group H – May 24 to
28 (Court-Pendu Gris) (also called Court-Pendu plat)
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).[23]
Maturation and
harvest
See also: Apple picking and Pruning fruit trees
Cultivars vary in their yield and the ultimate size of the tree, even when
grown on the same rootstock. Some cultivars, if left unpruned, will grow very
large, which allows them to bear much more fruit, but makes harvesting very
difficult. Mature trees typically bear 40–200 kilograms (88–440 lb) 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. Dwarf trees will bear about 10–80 kilograms (22–180 lb) of fruit
per year.[20]
Storage
Commercially, apples can be stored
for some months in controlled-atmosphere chambers to delay ethylene-induced onset of
ripening. Ripening begins when the fruit is removed.[24] For home
storage, most varieties of apple can be stored for approximately two weeks, when
kept at the coolest part of the refrigerator (i.e. below 5°C). Some types of
apple, including the Granny Smith and Fuji,
have an even longer shelf life.[25]
Pests and diseases
Leaves
with significant insect damage
Main article: List of apple
diseases
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.[26]
A wide range
of pests and diseases can affect the plant; three of the more common
diseases/pests are mildew, aphids and apple scab.
Mildew: which is characterized by
light grey powdery patches appearing on the leaves, shoots and flowers, normally
in spring. The flowers will turn a creamy yellow colour and will not develop
correctly. This can be treated in a manner not dissimilar from treating Botrytis;
eliminating the conditions which caused the disease in the first place and
burning the infected plants are among the recommended actions to take.[27][27]
Feeding aphids
Aphids: There are
five species of aphids commonly found on apples: apple grain aphid, rosy apple
aphid, apple aphid, spirea aphid and the woolly apple aphid. The aphid species
can be identified by their colour, the time of year when they are present and by
differences in the cornicles, which are small paired projections from the rear
of aphids.[27] Aphids
feed on foliage using needlelike mouthparts to suck out plant juices. When
present in high numbers, certain species may reduce tree growth and vigor.[28]
Apple
scab: Symptoms of Scab are olive-green or brown blotches on the leaves.[29]
The blotches turn more brown as time progresses. Then brown scabs on the fruit
(see apple picture on the left).[27] The
diseased leaves will fall early and the fruit will become increasingly covered
in scabs - eventually the fruit skin will crack. Although there are chemicals to
treat Scab, their use might not be encouraged as they are quite often
systematic, which means they are absorbed by the tree, and spread throughout the
fruit.[29]
Among
the most serious disease problems are fireblight, a bacterial
disease; and Gymnosporangium rust,
and black spot, two
fungal diseases.[28]
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.
Commerce
At least 55 million tonnes of apples were
grown worldwide in 2005, with a value of about $10 billion. China
produced about two-fifths of this total.[30] United
States is the second leading producer, with more than 7.5% of the world
production. Turkey, France, Italy and Iran are among the leading apple
exporters.[19]
In the United States, more than
60% of all the apples sold commercially are grown in Washington state.[31] Imported apples
from New
Zealand and other more temperate areas are competing with US production and
increasing each year.[30]
Most of
Australia's apple production is for domestic consumption. Imports from New
Zealand have been disallowed under quarantine regulations for fire blight since
1921.[32]
Top Ten Apple
Producers — 11 June 2008
Country
Production (Tonnes)
Footnote
People's
Republic of China
27507000
F
United
States
4237730
Iran
2660000
F
Turkey
2266437
Russia
2211000
F
Italy
2072500
India
2001400
France
1800000
F
Chile
1390000
F
Argentina
1300000
F
World
64255520
A
No
symbol = official figure, P = official figure, F = FAO estimate, * =
Unofficial/Semi-official/mirror data, C = Calculated figure A = Aggregate(may
include official, semi-official or estimates);
Source: Food And Agricultural Organization of United Nations: Economic And
Social Department: The Statistical Devision
Human consumption
See also: Cooking
apple and Cider apple
Apples can
be canned, juiced, and optionally fermented to produce apple juice, cider, ciderkin, vinegar, and pectin. Distilled apple cider
produces the spirits applejack and Calvados. Apple wine
can also be made. They make a popular lunchbox fruit as well.[33] An apple
can simply be eaten without preparation, you just need to not eat the
seeds.
Apples are an important ingredient in many desserts, such as apple pie,
apple crumble, apple
crisp and apple cake. They are often
eaten baked or stewed, and they can also be
dried and eaten or re-constituted (soaked in water, alcohol or some other
liquid) for later use. Puréed apples are generally known as apple
sauce. Apples are also made into apple butter and apple
jelly. They are also used (cooked) in meat dishes.
In the UK, a toffee apple is a
traditional confection made by coating an apple in hot toffee and allowing it to cool.
Similar treats in the US are candy apples (coated in a
hard shell of crystallised sugar syrup), and caramel apples, coated
with cooled caramel.
Apples are eaten
with honey at the Jewish New Year of Rosh Hashanah to symbolize
a sweet new year.[33]
Farms
with apple orchards may open them to the public, so consumers may themselves
pick the apples they will buy.[33]
Sliced
apples turn brown with exposure to air due to the conversion of natural phenolic
substances into melanin upon exposure to oxygen.[34] Different
cultivars differ in their propensity to brown after slicing. Sliced fruit can be
treated with acidulated water to
prevent this effect.[34]
Organic
apples are commonly produced in the United States.[35] Organic
production is difficult in Europe, though a few orchards have done so with
commercial success,[35] using
disease-resistant cultivars and the very best cultural controls. The latest tool
in the organic repertoire is a spray of a light coating of kaolin clay, which
forms a physical barrier to some pests, and also helps prevent apple sun
scald.[20][35]
Fallen apples
Eating fallen
apples, rather than picking directly from the tree, is generally safe. There may
be a risk of food poisoning if the orchard is also
the area of keeping cattle or other animals, which may contaminate the apples
with feces. Still, the risk may be small of food poisoning, but significantly
higher if the apples are used to make home-made (unpasteurized) cider or juice, thus
letting e.g. the bacteria E. coli 0157:H7
multiply.[36]
On the other
hand, if the apples are eaten unprocessed, and kept free from risk of
contamination with animal feces, then eating fallen apples are generally safe,
even if there is some general decay or worms in them, although this may
make the apples evoke disgust. Still, they may be submerged in water with salt
added, which kills the worms. [37]
Apparent molds may be
largely removed by putting in water with some vinegar added,[37] but if
they are of a large quantity then there might be mold or mold products left to
evoke mold health issues
such as allergic reactions and respiratory
problems.
Health
benefits
Apples, with skin (edible parts)Nutritional value per 100 g
(3.5 oz)
Energy 50 kcal 220 kJ
Carbohydrates
13.81 g
- Sugars 10.39 g
- Dietary fiber 2.4 g
Fat
0.17
g
Protein
0.26
g
Vitamin
A equiv. 3 μg
0%
Thiamin (Vit. B1) 0.017 mg
1%
Riboflavin (Vit. B2)
0.026 mg
2%
Niacin (Vit. B3) 0.091 mg
1%
Pantothenic acid (B5)
0.061 mg
1%
Vitamin B6 0.041
mg
3%
Folate (Vit. B9) 3
μg
1%
Vitamin C 4.6
mg
8%
Calcium 6
mg
1%
Iron
0.12 mg
1%
Magnesium
5 mg
1%
Phosphorus
11 mg
2%
Potassium
107 mg
2%
Zinc 0.04
mg
0%
Percentages are relative to USrecommendations
for adults.Source: USDA Nutrient
database
The proverb "An apple a day keeps
the doctor away," addresses the health effects of the fruit. Though this adage
was likely the result of farmers encouraging higher sales of produce in an
effort to counteract the belief that it was an apple that was the forbidden
fruit which Adam and Eve ate,[citation
needed] research suggests that apples may reduce the risk of colon cancer, prostate cancer and lung
cancer.[38] Compared to many
other fruits and vegetables, apples contain relatively low amounts of Vitamin C as
well as several other antioxidant compounds.[34] 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,[39] weight
loss[39] and
controlling cholesterol,[39] as they
do not have any cholesterol, have fiber, which reduces cholesterol by preventing
reabsorption, and are bulky for their caloric content like most fruits and
vegetables.[39][40]
There is
evidence that in vitro apples possess phenolic
compounds which may be cancer-protective and demonstrate antioxidant activity.[41] The
predominant phenolic phytochemicals in apples are quercetin, epicatechin, and procyanidin B2.[42]
Apple juice
concentrate has been found to increase the production of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine in mice,
providing a potential mechanism for the "prevent[ion of] the decline in
cognitive performance that accompanies dietary and genetic deficiencies and
aging." Others studies have shown an "alleviat[ion of] oxidative damage and
cognitive decline" in mice after the administration of apple juice.[43]
The seeds are mildly
poisonous, containing a small amount of amygdalin, a cyanogenic glycoside; usually not enough
to be dangerous to humans, but it can deter birds.
Hope you enjoyed :D
Iwan(:
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