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APPLE FACTS

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Apple Facts

 

Apple Production

Thirty-six states grow apples to sell. Apple growers use half-a-million acres of our land to produce apples, and produce 265 million bushels per year. Most of these apple orchards
are in our northern states, such as Washington, Michigan, and New York. Washington state has the best climate in the world to grow apples because of its warm days and cool nights. Of all the apples grown in the United States, half are sold fresh and half are made
into apple sauce, apple juice, or dehydrated apple products.

Healthy Bites

Apples contain Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin B6, and Vitamin B12, along with thiamin and niacin. They are rich in pectin which is known to reduce cholesterol. Apples contain as much fiber as a whole bowl of most popular cereals and are also good for diabetics. The
soluble fiber in apples works to regulate blood sugar, and prevent its sudden fluctuation.

Apples All The Time

Apples are harvested in late summer and early fall; however, we can buy fresh apples
from the store all year. This is due to Controlled Atmosphere Storage. Controlled Atmosphere Storage regulates the temperature, oxygen, carbon dioxide, and humidity in the storage room. Each variety of apple requires different conditions so computers help keep the specified conditions constant.

As an apple ripens, the starches change to sugar, and the apple takes in oxygen and gives
off carbon dioxide. This is the respiration process of an apple. In Controlled Atmosphere
Storage, the respiration process is slowed down so the apples do not ripen quickly. Most
varieties of apples can be stored for 12 months or longer. Because of Controlled Atmosphere Storage, we are able to enjoy apples all year round.

A Budding Idea

Apple trees are difficult to grow from seeds. It takes about 15 years for a tree grown from a seed to produce an apple. Most apple trees are grown by grafting or budding onto already existing rootstocks.

There are approximately 7,500 varieties of apples. Growers take the best parts from different trees and stick them together with glue and tape. This is called grafting. Many growers graft the branches of a desired type of apple tree to a rootstock to produce a new plant. The rootstock includes a section of tree roots still attached to a bit of the tree trunk.

Sometimes growers use budding instead of grafting. In budding, one bud is taken from a tree and attached under the bark of the rootstock with tape or glue. New trees created by grafting or budding live in a protected nursery for about twelve months before they are replanted in an orchard.

Growers are always trying to make new and perfect apples. They continue to combine the
genetic material contained in the branches, buds, or rootstocks to adjust the taste, color, texture, shape, and growing season of the apple.

Where Did Apples Come From?

The apple was brought to the United States by the Pilgrims in 1620. While the Native Americans taught the early settlers how to grow corn and vegetables, the settlers taught the Native Americans how to grow apples with apple tree seeds, seedlings, and small trees. They used apples to make apple juice, apple cider, dried apples, apple butter, and vinegar. The apples were even food for the pigs, cows, and horses.

During the long, cold winters, the settlers could not grow fresh fruits and vegetables. So, instead they found ways to preserve them. The apples were peeled, cored, and hung out to dry on a big net or string tied to trees or posts. The warm air would evaporate the water inside the apples, and they would be dried in a few days.

All it Takes is a Bee

Apple blossoms, which are white or pale pink, appear on apple trees in the spring. Unknowingly a bee takes pollen, made mostly of male cells, from the stamens of one apple blossom, and leaves it near the pistils, made of female cells, of another apple blossom. This is called pollination. When the apple blossom is pollinated, it develops into an apple. Since every apple seed is made of its own unique set of genetic material, you can plant 10 seeds from a single apple and get 10 entirely different kinds of apples. Bees are important
for pollination, so some apple growers place beehives in their orchards.

 

Information provided by the Illinois Agriculture in the Classroom Program.

Another great resource for teachers and students alike is Apple Country, New York State.

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