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Maturation and harvest

Lauri Kristian Relander, the former Apples being

President of Finland, with his family harvested in
picking apples in the 1930s Wenatchee,
Washington,
United States
(2010)

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 40–200 kg (90–440 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. Trees grafted on dwarfing rootstocks bear about 10–80 kg (20–180 lb) of fruit per year.[49]

Some farms with apple orchards open them to the public so consumers can pick their own apples.[53]

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'.[39]

Storage
Commercially, apples can be stored for months in controlled
atmosphere chambers. Apples are commonly stored in
chambers with lowered concentrations of oxygen to reduce
respiration and slow softening and other changes if the fruit is
already fully ripe. The gas ethylene is used by plants as a
hormone which promotes ripening, decreasing the time an
apple can be stored. For storage longer than about six months
the apples are picked earlier, before full ripeness, when
ethylene production by the fruit is low. However, in many
varieties this increases their sensitivity to carbon dioxide, Rome apples on sale at a farmer's
which also must be controlled.[54] market in Newark, Delaware, United
States (2011)

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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 4 to 0 °C (39 to 32 °F).[55][56] Some
varieties of apples (e.g. 'Granny Smith' and 'Fuji') have more than three times the storage life of
others.[57]

Non-organic apples may be sprayed with a substance 1-methylcyclopropene blocking the apples'
ethylene receptors, temporarily preventing them from ripening.[58]

Pests and diseases

Apple trees are susceptible to fungal and bacterial diseases,
and to damage by insect pests. Many commercial orchards
pursue a program of chemical sprays to maintain high fruit
quality, tree health, and high yields. These prohibit the use of
synthetic pesticides, though some older pesticides are allowed.
Organic methods include, for instance, introducing its natural
predator to reduce the population of a particular pest.

A wide range of pests and diseases can affect the plant. Three
of the more common diseases or pests are mildew, aphids, Codling moth larva tunnelling inside an
and apple scab. apple

Mildew is characterized by light grey powdery patches

appearing on the leaves, shoots and flowers, normally in spring. The flowers turn a creamy yellow
color and do not develop correctly. This can be treated similarly to Botrytis—eliminating the
conditions that caused the disease and burning the infected plants are among recommended
actions.[59]
Aphids are small insects with sucking mouthparts. Five species of aphids commonly attack
apples: apple grain aphid, rosy apple aphid, apple aphid, spirea aphid, and the woolly apple
aphid. The aphid species can be identified by color, time of year, and by differences in the
cornicles (small paired projections from their rear).[60] Aphids feed on foliage using needle-like
mouth parts to suck out plant juices. When present in high numbers, certain species reduce tree
growth and vigor.[61]
Apple scab: Apple scab causes leaves to develop olive-brown spots with a velvety texture that
later turn brown and become cork-like in texture. The disease also affects the fruit, which also
develops similar brown spots with velvety or cork-like textures. Apple scab is spread through
fungus growing in old apple leaves on the ground and spreads during warm spring weather to
infect the new year's growth.[62]
Among the most serious disease problems is a bacterial disease called fireblight, and three fungal
diseases: Gymnosporangium rust, black spot,[63] and bitter rot.[64] Codling moths, and the apple
maggots 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.[62] 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.[65]

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Cultivars
There are more than 7,500 known cultivars (cultivated
varieties) of apples.[66] Cultivars vary in their yield and the
ultimate size of the tree, even when grown on the same
rootstock.[67] Different cultivars are available for temperate
and subtropical climates. The UK's National Fruit Collection,
which is the responsibility of the Department of Environment,
Food, and Rural Affairs, includes a collection of over 2,000
cultivars of apple tree in Kent.[68] The University of Reading,
which is responsible for developing the UK national collection From left to right: the 'Golden Delicious',
database, provides access to search the national collection. 'SweeTango', 'Granny Smith', and 'Gala'
The University of Reading's work is part of the European apples.
Cooperative Programme for Plant Genetic Resources of which
there are 38 countries participating in the Malus/Pyrus work
group.[69]

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 (cooking apples) or producing cider. Cider apples are typically too tart and
astringent to eat fresh, but they give the beverage a rich flavor that dessert apples cannot.[70]

In Europe, apple breeding programs are conducted at places such as Julius Kühn-Institut, the
German federal research center for cultivated plants.[71]

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.[72] Released by the University of Minnesota in 1991, the 'Honeycrisp' has
become famous for its crispness and juiciness, thereby commanding high market prices.[72] Unusually
for a popular cultivar, the 'Honeycrisp' is not directly related to another popular apple cultivar but
instead to two unsuccessful cultivars.[73] 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.[74] By the 2020s, about half of the new apple varieties entering the
market in the United States and Canada are 'Honeycrisp' progeny.[75] Such hybrids include the
'SweeTango' (a cross between the 'Honeycrisp' and the 'Zestar') introduced by the University of
Minnesota in 2008 and the 'Cosmic Crisp' (the 'Honeycrisp' and the 'Enterprise') released by
Washington State University in 2017.[74]

Commercially popular apple cultivars are soft but crisp. Other desirable qualities in modern
commercial apple breeding are a colorful skin, absence of russeting, ease of shipping, lengthy storage
ability, high yields, disease resistance, common apple shape, and developed flavor.[67] Modern apples
are generally sweeter than older cultivars, as popular tastes in apples have varied over time.[76] Most
North Americans and Europeans favor crunchy, sweet, and subacid apples.[77] Nevertheless, tart
apples maintain a strong minority following.[78] In the United States today, the most popular apple
varieties are the 'Ambrosia', 'Honeycrisp', and 'Jazz', according Nielsen data,[74] while in Canada, the
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'Honeyscrisp', 'Ambrosia', and 'Gala' take the top spots.[76]

Together, these relatively newer varieties have overtaken once
dominant cultivars like the 'McIntosh' and the 'Red Delicious'
in the North American market.[76][77] Extremely sweet apples
with barely any acid flavor are popular in Asia,[78] especially
the Indian subcontinent.[70]

Old cultivars are often oddly shaped, russeted, and grow in a

variety of textures and colors. Some find them to have better
Less common apple cultivars from an
flavor than modern cultivars, but they may have other
orchard in Italy
problems that make them commercially unviable—low yield,
disease susceptibility, poor tolerance for storage or transport,
or just being the "wrong" size.[79] 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.[6]

Production
World production of apples in 2023 was
97 million tonnes, with China producing
51% of the total (table).[80] Secondary
producers were the United States,
Turkey, and Poland.[80]

Toxicity

Amygdalin
Apple seeds contain small amounts of
amygdalin, a sugar and cyanide Apple production
compound known as a cyanogenic
glycoside. Ingesting small amounts of
apple seeds causes no ill effects, but consumption of extremely large doses can cause adverse
reactions. It may take several hours before the poison takes effect, as cyanogenic glycosides must be
hydrolyzed before the cyanide ion is released.[81] The U.S. National Library of Medicine's Hazardous
Substances Data Bank records no cases of amygdalin poisoning from consuming apple seeds.[82]

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