Ancestral Origins of the Apple Tree
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priyankaAncestral Origins of the Apple Tree
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priyankaThe apple is a deciduous tree, generally standing 6 to 15 ft (1.8 to 4.
6 m) tall in cultivation and up to
30 ft (9.1 m) in the wild. When cultivated, the size, shape and branch density are determined
by rootstock selection and trimming method. The leaves are alternately arranged dark green-colored
simple ovals with serrated margins and slightly downy undersides.[4]
Apple blossom
Blossoms are produced in spring simultaneously with the budding of the leaves and are produced on
spurs and some long shoots. The 3 to 4 cm (1.2 to 1.6 in) flowers are white with a pink tinge that
gradually fades, five petaled, with an inflorescence consisting of a cyme with 4–6 flowers. The
central flower of the inflorescence is called the "king bloom"; it opens first and can develop a larger
fruit.[4][5]
The fruit matures in late summer or autumn, and cultivars exist in a wide range of sizes. Commercial
growers aim to produce an apple that is 2 3⁄4 to 3 1⁄4 in (7.0 to 8.3 cm) in diameter, due to market
preference. Some consumers, especially those in Japan, prefer a larger apple, while apples
below 2 1⁄4 in (5.7 cm) are generally used for making juice and have little fresh market value. The skin
of ripe apples is generally red, yellow, green, pink, or russetted, though many bi- or tri-colored
cultivars may be found.[6] The skin may also be wholly or partly russeted i.e. rough and brown. The
skin is covered in a protective layer of epicuticular wax.[7] The exocarp (flesh) is generally pale
yellowish-white,[6]though pink or yellow exocarps also occur.
Wild ancestors
Main article: Malus sieversii
The original wild ancestor of Malus domestica was Malus sieversii, found growing wild in
the mountains of Central Asia in southern Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Xinjiang,
China.[4][8] Cultivation of the species, most likely beginning on the forested flanks of the Tian
Shan mountains, progressed over a long period of time and permitted secondary introgression of
genes from other species into the open-pollinated seeds. Significant exchange with Malus sylvestris,
the crabapple, resulted in current populations of apples being more related to crabapples than to the
more morphologically similar progenitor Malus sieversii. In strains without recent admixture the
contribution of the latter predominates.[9][10][11]
Genome
In 2010, an Italian-led consortium announced they had sequenced the complete genome of the
apple in collaboration with horticultural genomicists at Washington State University,[12] using 'Golden
Delicious'.[13] It had about 57,000 genes, the highest number of any plant genome studied to
date[14] and more genes than the human genome (about 30,000).[15] This new understanding of the
apple genome will help scientists identify genes and gene variants that contribute to resistance to
disease and drought, and other desirable characteristics. Understanding the genes behind these
characteristics will help scientists perform more knowledgeable selective breeding. The genome
sequence also provided proof that Malus sieversii was the wild ancestor of the domestic apple—an
issue that had been long-debated in the scientific community.[12]
History
Wild Malus sieversii apple in Kazakhstan
The center of diversity of the genus Malus is in eastern present-day Turkey. The apple tree may
have been the earliest tree that humans cultivated,[16] and growers have improved its fruits through
selection over thousands of years. Alexander the Great is credited with finding dwarfed apples
in Kazakhstan in 328 BCE.[4] Winter apples, picked in late autumn and stored just above freezing,
have been an important food in Asia and Europe for millennia.[16]
Of the many Old World plants that the Spanish introduced to Chiloé Archipelago in the 16th century,
apple trees became particularly well adapted.[17] Apples were introduced to North America by
colonists in the 17th century,[4] and the first apple orchard on the North American continent was
planted in Boston by Reverend William Blaxton in 1625.[18] The only apples native to North America
are crab apples, which were once called "common apples".[19] 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.[19] 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.[4]
Until the 20th century, farmers stored apples in frostproof cellars during the winter for their own use
or for sale. Improved transportation of fresh apples by train and road replaced the necessity for
storage.[20][21] 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 used in the United States in the 1960s.[22]