Apple

Variety of red gala apple (Malus domestica(1909)

The apple or poma is the edible fruit of the species Malus domestica, the common apple tree. It is a pome fruit with a round shape and a very sweet flavor, depending on the variety.

Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely used species of the genus Malus. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancestor, Malus sieversii, is still found today. Apples have been cultivated for thousands of years in Asia and Europe and were brought to the Americas by European settlers. Apples have religious and mythological significance in many cultures, including the Norse, Greek, and European Christian tradition.

Apple trees are great if grown from seed. Apple cultivars are generally propagated by grafting onto rootstocks, which control the size of the resulting tree. There are more than 7,500 known cultivars of apples with different characteristics. There are cultivars that produce fruits suitable for cooking, consuming raw or cider production. Both trees and fruits are susceptible to diseases, such as fungi, bacteria and parasite pests, which can be controlled by organic and non-organic means. In 2010, the fruit's genome was sequenced as part of research on disease control and selective breeding in apple production.

World apple production in 2018 was 86 million tons, with China accounting for almost half of the total.

Description

Manzana

The apple comes from a deciduous tree, generally 2 to 4.5 m tall in cultivation and up to 9 m in the wild. When grown, the size, shape, and branch density are determined by the rootstock selection and trimming method. The dark green leaves are simple ovals with serrated margins and droop slightly downwards; they are arranged along the branch alternately.

Flowering occurs in spring, simultaneously with the appearance of the leaves. The inflorescences are cyme-shaped with four to six flowers. Each flower is 3-4 cm in diameter, with five white petals tinged with pink, gradually fading. The central flower is often called the "king flower" because the first one opens and can develop a larger fruit.

The fruits ripen in late summer or fall, and reach very different sizes depending on the cultivar. Growers aim to produce apples that are 7 to 8.5 cm in diameter, due to market preference. Some consumers, especially those in Japan, prefer even larger apples, while those below 5.5cm are generally used for juicing and have little market value for raw consumption. The skin of ripe apples is generally red, yellow, green, pink, or rusty, although many bi- or tri-color cultivars can be found. The skin is covered in a protective layer of epicuticular wax. And may be fully or partially rusted, that is, rough and brown. The exocarp (flesh) is generally pale yellowish-white, although pink or yellow exocarps also occur.

Wild Ancestor

The original wild ancestor of Malus domestica was Malus sieversii, distributed in the mountains of Central Asia in southern Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Xinjiang, China. Cultivation of the species, probably beginning on the forested flanks of the Tian Shan Mountains, progressed over a long period and allowed secondary introgression of genes from other species into open-pollinated seeds. Significant exchange with Malus sylvestris, the crabapple trees, resulted in current apple populations more closely related to crabapples than to the morphologically more similar parent, Malus sieversii. In strains without recent mixing, the contribution of the latter predominates.

Genome

In 2010, an Italian-led consortium announced that it had sequenced the entire apple genome in collaboration with horticultural genomics at Washington State University, using 'Golden Delicious'. It had some 57,000 genes, the largest number of any plant genome studied to date (2010) and more genes than the human genome (about 30,000). This new understanding of the apple genome will help scientists identify genes and genetic variants that contribute to disease and drought resistance, and other desirable characteristics. Understanding the genes behind these characteristics will help scientists conduct selective breeding. The genome sequence also provided evidence that Malus sieversii was the wild ancestor of the domestic apple, an issue that had been long debated in the scientific community.

Origin and history

They come from the Tian Shan forests, a border area between China, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. With the expeditions to America, the apple reached the English colonies in the area that is currently the United States, and spread throughout the territory. It is traditionally said that its origin would be located in the area of Almá-Atá or Almatý, the former capital of the former Soviet republic of Kazakhstan and currently the second most important city of the independent Kazakh state. In fact, Almaty is the adjectival form of the noun "apple" in Kazakh and is popularly translated as "father of apples".

Malus sieversii is recognized as an important parent species of cultivated apple, and is morphologically similar. Due to genetic variability in Central Asia, this region is generally considered the center of origin. The apple tree is believed to have been domesticated 4,000–10,000 years ago in the Tian Shan Mountains, and then traveled along the Route from Silk to Europe, with hybridization and introgression of wild apple trees from Siberia (M. baccata), Caucasus (M. orientalis), and Europe (M sylvestris). Only the trees of M. sieversii growing on the western side of the Tian Shan Mountains contributed genetically to the domesticated species, not to the isolated population on the eastern side.

Chinese soft apples, such as M. asiatica and M. prunifolia, have been cultivated as dessert apples for over 2,000 years in China. These are believed to be hybrids between M. baccata and M. sieversii in Kazakhstan.

Traits selected by human growers include size, fruit acidity, color, firmness, and soluble sugar. Unusually for domesticated fruits, the wild form of M. sieversii is only slightly smaller than the modern domesticated apple.

At the site of Sammardenchia-Cueis near Udine in north-eastern Italy, seeds of some type of apple have been found dating to around 4000 BC. Genetic analysis has not yet been successfully used to determine whether such ancient apples were Malus sylvestris or Malus domesticus with ancestry from Malus sieversii. It is also generally difficult to distinguish in the archaeological record between harvested wild apples and apple plantations.

There is indirect evidence of its cultivation in the third millennium BC. C. in the Middle East. There was substantial apple production in classical European antiquity, and it is clear that the grafting method was known by then, although it is not clear when it was discovered. This method is an essential part of modern production, in order to propagate the best apples. cultivars.

Winter apples, picked in late fall and stored just above freezing, have been an important food in Asia and Europe for millennia.^{[citation needed]} Of the many Old World plants that the Spanish introduced to the Chiloé archipelago in the 16th century, apple trees they adapted especially well. Colonists introduced the crop to North America in the 17th century century, and the first orchards of apples on the North American continent were planted by the Reverend William Blaxton in Boston in 1625. The only apples native to North America were wild apples of the genus Malus which were once called "common apples& #34;. Cultivars introduced as seeds from Europe, spread along Native American trade routes, as well as being cultivated on colonial farms. An 1845 catalog of United States apple nurseries sold 350 of the "best" cultivars, showing the proliferation of new North American cultivars at the turn of the century 19th century. In the century, irrigation projects were developed in eastern Washington and allowed the rise of the multi-billion dollar fruit industry, of which the apple is the leading product.

Until the 20th century, farmers stored apples in frost-proof cellars during the winter for their own use or for sale. Improved transportation of fresh apples by rail and road replaced the need for storage. Controlled atmosphere facilities are used to keep apples fresh year-round. Controlled atmosphere facilities use high humidity, low oxygen levels, and controlled levels of carbon dioxide to maintain the freshness of the fruit. They were first used in the United States in the 1960s.

The apple in history and symbology

Tree of knowledge, painted by Lucas Cranach as a apple tree.

Hercules carrying the apple of the Hespérides, statue of Roman golden bronze of the second century BC.

Germanic Paganism

In Norse mythology, the goddess Iðunn is portrayed in the Prose Edda (written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson) as a supplier of apples to the gods who give eternal youth. English scholar H. R. Ellis Davidson links apples to religious practices in Germanic paganism, from which Norse paganism developed. He notes that buckets of apples were found at the Oseberg ship burial site in Norway, that fruits and nuts have been found (as they have been described as turning into a nut in the Skáldskaparmál) in the early graves of the Germanic peoples of England and elsewhere on the European continent, that they may have had symbolic significance, and that walnuts remain a recognized symbol of fertility in South West England.

Davidson points to a connection between apples and the Vanir, a tribe of gods associated with fertility in Norse mythology, citing the example of eleven "golden apples" which Skírnir, who was acting as a messenger of the chief god Vanir Frey, gave to woo the beautiful Gerðr in stanzas 19 and 20 of Skírnismál.

Davidson also points out an additional connection between fertility and apples in Norse mythology in chapter 2 of the völsunga saga: when the elder goddess Frigg sends an apple to King Rerir after praying to Odin by a child, Frigg's messenger (disguised as a raven) drops the apple into his lap as he sits atop a mound. Rerir's wife's consumption of the apple results in a six-year pregnancy and the birth (by caesarean section) of their son, the hero Völsung.

In addition, Davidson points out the "weird" phrase "Apples of Hel" used in a poem from the 11th century century by the skald Thorbiorn Brúnarson. He claims this may imply that Brúnarson thought the apple was the food of the dead. He also points out that the potentially Germanic goddess Nehalennia is sometimes depicted with apples and that parallels exist in early Irish stories. Davidson says that while apple cultivation in northern Europe dates back at least to the time of the Roman Empire and came to Europe from the Near East, the native varieties of apple trees that grow in northern Europe are small and bitter. Davidson concludes that in the figure of Iðunn "we must have a faint reflection of an ancient symbol: that of the goddess guardian of the life-giving fruit of the other world".

Greek Mythology

Apples appear in many religious traditions, often as a mystical or forbidden fruit. One of the problems with identifying apples in religion, mythology, and folktales is that the word "apple" was used as a generic term for all (foreign) fruits except berries, including nuts, as early as the 17th century. For example, in Greek mythology, the Greek hero Heracles, as part of his Twelve Labors, was required to travel to the Garden of the Hesperides and pick the golden apples from the tree of life that grew in its center.

The Greek goddess of discord, Eris, was upset at being excluded from the wedding of Peleus and Thetis. In retaliation, she threw a golden apple (Kalliste, sometimes transliterated Kallisti, "For the most beautiful") at the wedding party. Three goddesses claimed the apple: Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite. Paris de Troya was appointed to select the recipient. After being bribed by 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.

Therefore, in ancient Greece the apple was considered sacred to Aphrodite. To throw an apple at someone was to symbolically declare one's love; and similarly, to catch it was to symbolically show the acceptance of that love. An epigram claiming authorship by Plato states:

I throw away the apple, and if you are willing to love me, take it and share with me your childhood; but if your thoughts are what I pray they are not, take it and consider how ephemeral beauty is.
—Platon, Epigram VII

Atalanta, also from Greek mythology, ran off with all her suitors in an attempt to avoid marriage. She bested all but Hippomenes (also known as Melanion, a name possibly derived from melon, the Greek word for "apple" and fruit in general), who defeated her with cunning, not speed. Hippomenes knew that he could not win in a fair race, so he used three golden apples (gifts from Aphrodite, the goddess of love) to distract Atalanta. It took all three apples and all of her speed, but Hippomenes ultimately succeeded, winning the race and Atalanta's hand.

Christian Art

Although the forbidden fruit of Eden is not identified in the Book of Genesis, popular Christian tradition has held that it was an apple with which Eve tricked Adam. The origin of popular identification with a fruit unknown in the Middle The Orient in biblical times is found in the confusion between the Latin words m'lum (an apple) and m'lum (an evil), each one of which is usually spelled malum. The tree with the forbidden fruit is called "the tree of the knowledge of good and evil" in Genesis 2:17, and the Latin for "good and evil" it is bonum et malum.

Renaissance painters may also have been influenced by the 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, man's fall into sin, and sin itself. The larynx in the human throat has been called the 'Adam's apple'; due to the notion that it was caused by the forbidden fruit being left in her throat. The apple as a symbol of sexual seduction has been used to imply human sexuality, possibly ironically.

Proverb

The proverb, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away", addressing the purported health benefits of the fruit, dates back to 19th century Wales XIX, when the original phrase was "Eat an apple when you go to bed, and you will prevent the doctor from earning his bread". XIX and early XX, the phrase evolved to "an apple a day, no doctor to pay" and "an apple a day sends the doctor away"; the now commonly used phrasing was first recorded in 1922. Despite the proverb, there is no evidence that eating an apple daily has significant health effects.

Cultivation

Breeding

Many apple trees grow easily from seed. Unlike most perennial fruits, however, they must be propagated asexually to obtain sweetness and other desirable characteristics from the parents. This is because apple trees obtained in this way are an example of 'extremely heterozygous', since instead of inheriting genes from their parents to create a new plant with parental characteristics, they are significantly different, perhaps to compete with the many pests. Triploid cultivars have an additional reproductive barrier in that three sets of chromosomes cannot divide evenly during meiosis, resulting in uneven segregation of chromosomes (aneuploid). Even when a triploid plant can produce a seed (apples are an example), it occurs infrequently, and seedlings rarely survive.

Because apples do not reproduce when planted from seed, and although cuttings can take root, grow adequately, and live for a century, grafting is generally used. The rootstock used for grafting can be selected to produce trees of many different sizes, as well as to change the winter weather, insect and disease resistance, and soil preference of the resulting tree. Dwarf rootstocks can be used to produce very small trees (less than 3 m tall at maturity), which fruit much earlier in their life cycle than normal-sized trees, and are easier to harvest. Dwarf rootstocks in Apple trees date back to 300 B.C. C., in the area of Persia and Asia Minor. Alexander the Great sent samples of dwarf apple trees to Aristotle's Lyceum. These dwarf rootstocks became common during the 15th century and later went through several cycles of popularity and decline around the world. Most of the rootstocks used today to control the size of apple trees were developed in England in the early 1900s. Extensive research on rootstocks was carried out by the East Malling Research Station, and today their rootstocks receive the prefix "M" to designate its origin. Those marked with the prefix "MM" are cultivars of the Malling series later crossed with 'Northern Spy' trees; in Merton, England.

Most new apple cultivars come from seedlings, either born by chance or bred by deliberately crossing cultivars with promising characteristics. The words "seedling", "pippin" and "kernel" in a cultivar name suggests that it originated as a seedling. Apple trees can also form bearings (mutations on a single branch). Some turn out to be improved varieties of the parent. Others differ enough from the parent tree to be considered new cultivars.

Since the 1930s, the Excelsior Experiment Station at the University of Minnesota has introduced a steady progression of important apple trees that are widely grown, both commercially and by local horticulturists, throughout Minnesota and Wisconsin. Among his most important contributions are the 'Haralson' (the most cultivated in Minnesota), 'Wealthy', 'Honeygold', and 'Honeycrisp'.

Apples have been acclimated in Ecuador to very high altitudes where often, given the necessary factors, they yield crops twice a year thanks to the constant temperate conditions throughout the year.

Pollination

apple flower

Apple trees are self-incompatible; cross-pollination must be used for fruiting. During each blooming season, growers often use pollinators to transport pollen. Honey bees are the most commonly used. Mason bees are also used as supplemental pollinators in commercial orchards. Bumblebee queens are sometimes present in orchards, but not in sufficient numbers to be significant pollinators.

There are four to seven pollination groups in apple trees, depending on the climate:

• Group A – Early flowering (from 1 to 3 May in England), ('Gravenstein', 'Red Astrachan')
• Group B – 4-7 May ('Idared', 'McIntosh')
• Group C – Half-season flowering, from 8 to 11 May ('Granny Smith','Cox's Orange Pippin')
• Group D – Medium-season flowering, from 12 to 15 May ('Golden Delicious', 'Calville blanc d'hiver')
• Group E – Late flowering, from 16 to 18 May ('Braeburn','Reinette d'Orléans')
• Group F – 19-23 May ('Suntan')
• Group H – 24 to 28 May ('Court-Pendu Gris' – also called Court-Pendu plat)

A cultivar may be pollinated by another compatible cultivar of the same or close group (A with A, or A with B, but not A with C or D).

Cultivars are sometimes ranked by the day of peak bloom in the average 30-day bloom period, with pollinators selected from the cultivars within a 6-day overlap period.

Ripening and harvesting

Cultivars vary in yield and final tree stature, even when growing on the same rootstock. Some, if not pruned, grow very large, which allows them to bear more fruit, but makes it difficult to harvest. Depending on the density of the trees (number of trees planted per unit area), mature trees typically support 40 to 200 kg of apples per year, although productivity can be close to zero in poor years. The apples are harvested using three-point ladders that are designed to fit between the branches. Trees grafted onto dwarf rootstocks bear about 10 to 80 kg of fruit per year.

The fruits ripen at different times of the year depending on the cultivar. Among those that produce their crop in summer are: 'Gala', 'Golden Supreme', 'McIntosh', 'Transparent', ' 39;Primate', 'Sweet Bough' and 'Duchess'; among the autumn ones: 'Fuji', 'Jonagold', 'Golden Delicious', 'Red Delicious', 'Chenango';, 'Gravenstein', 'Wealthy', 'McIntosh', 'Snow' and 'Blenheim'; winter ones: 'Winesap', 'Granny Smith', 'King', 'Wagener', 'Swayzie', 'Greening' and 'Tolman Sweet'.

Storage

The McIntosh apple is one of the few cultivars that does not tolerate temperatures of 0 °C during conservation, being stored at 4 °C.

The apple is a climacteric fruit, whose post-harvest life under optimal storage conditions varies between two and eight months, depending on the variety, with which the apple is counted, along with kiwi and winter pears, among those fruits that admit a longer storage in a cold room, preserving a good part of their nutritional value. Late harvest apples, harvested towards the beginning of autumn and preserved in cameras above the freezing point, have been an outstanding food for millennia in Asia, Europe, and the United States since the 19th century.

Apples require temperatures close to 0 °C (except in a few varieties susceptible to chilling damage, such as Yellow Newton Pippin or McIntosh, which are stored at 4 °C) for industrial preservation, with relative humidity of 90- 95%, supplemented with controlled atmospheres or other technologies, such as 1-methylcyclopropene.

Commercially, apples can be stored for a few months in controlled atmosphere chambers to delay ethylene-induced ripening. They are normally stored in chambers with higher concentrations of carbon dioxide and high air filtration.

For home storage, most can keep for about two weeks when kept in the coolest part of the refrigerator (i.e., below 5°C). Some can be stored for up to a year without significant degradation. Some varieties (for example, 'Granny Smith' and 'Fuji') can be stored three times as long.

Non-organic apples can be sprayed with 1-Methylcyclopropene which blocks the ethylene receptors, temporarily preventing them from ripening.

Otherwise, if you want to make them mature quickly, it's best to leave them outdoors. This fruit ripens 6-10 times faster at room temperature than in the refrigerator.

Pests and diseases

Apple trees are susceptible to a number of fungal and bacterial diseases and insect pests. Many commercial orchards pursue a chemical spray program to maintain optimum fruit quality, healthy trees, and high yields. The use of synthetic pesticides is prohibited, although some older pesticides are allowed. Organic methods include, for example, the introduction of its natural predator to reduce the population of a particular pest.

A wide variety of pests and diseases can affect the plant. Three of the most common diseases or pests are mold, aphids, and scabies.

• Mildiu: is characterized by light grey dusty spots that appear on the leaves, shoots and flowers, usually in spring. The flowers become creamy yellow and do not develop properly. This is similar to Botrytis, eliminating the conditions that cause the disease and burning infected plants.
• Fids: small insects. Normally five species attack apples: apple-grain polish, pink apple flar, apple flar, spine and lanca apple polish. Each species can be identified by colour, time of year, and by differences in the cornices (small projections matched from its back). Aphids feed on the foliage using the parts of their mouth as a needle to suck the juices of the plant. When they are present in large quantities, certain species reduce the growth and vigor of the trees.
• Apple's apple: it is a fungal disease that makes the leaves develop stains of olive brown with a velvety texture that later become brown and with a look similar to the cork. The disease also affects the fruit, which also develops the same symptoms. The fungi that produce the disease grow in old leaves scattered on the ground, spread during the warm spring climate infecting the growth of the following year.

Among the most serious problems are a disease called fire blight, and two fungal diseases: Gymnosporangium rust and black spot. Other pests that affect apple trees include Codling moths and apple worms. Young apple trees are also prone to attack by mammals such as mice and deer, which feed on the soft bark of the trees, especially in winter. Larvae of the moth Synanthedon myopaeformis bore into the bark and phloem of apple trees, causing significant damage.

Varieties/cultivars

Different varieties

More than 7,500 varieties of apples are known, although the number that is marketed is approximately 25. New varieties are gradually being developed, mutations of other previous cultivars. The different varieties are distributed preferentially in areas with temperate climates -cold, as it is one of the fruit species that requires a greater number of cold hours (temperatures below 7 °C) during the dormant period (winter rest). Although on average cultivars require about 1,300 chill hours, there are cultivars used in subtropics that require only 100 to 200 hours (for example, 'Anna').^{[citation required ]} They can be stored for up to several months and do not lose their freshness. In fact, the producers harvest during the season and then store them for up to a year in facilities specially created to avoid the excessive ripening process. In some areas of Spain it is usually called but when it has an elongated shape.

Cultivars vary in yield and final tree size, even when grown on the same rootstock. Different cultivars are available for temperate and subtropical climates. The UK National Fruit Collection, which is the responsibility of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, includes a collection of over 2,000 apple cultivars in Kent. The University of Reading, which is responsible for developing the data base UK national collection data, provides access to searching the national collection. The University of Reading's work is part of the European Cooperative Program for Plant Genetic Resources, which involves 38 countries in the Malus/Pyrus working group.

Commercially popular apple cultivars are soft yet crisp. Other desirable qualities in modern commercial apple breeding are colorful skin, lack of oxidation, ease of shipping, long storage capacity, high yields, disease resistance, common apple shape, and developed flavor. Modern apples are generally sweeter than older cultivars, as popular taste has varied over time. Most North Americans and Europeans prefer sweet and sub-sour apples, but sour apples are supported by a strong minority. Extremely sweet apples with little sour taste are popular in Asia, especially the Indian subcontinent.

Old cultivars are often oddly shaped, reddish in color, and grow in a variety of textures and colors. Some find them to taste better than modern cultivars, but they may have other problems that make them commercially unviable: low yield, disease susceptibility, poor tolerance for storage or shipping, or simply being the "wrong" size. #3. 4;. Some old cultivars are still produced on a large scale, but many have been preserved by private gardeners and farmers who sell directly to local markets. There are many unusual and locally important cultivars with their own unique flavor and appearance; Apple conservation campaigns have sprung up around the world to preserve them from extinction. In the UK, older cultivars such as 'Cox's Orange Pippin' and 'Egremont Russet' they remain commercially important despite being low-yielding and disease-susceptible by modern standards.

The UK National Fruit Collection Database contains a wealth of information on the characteristics and origin of many apples, including alternative names for what is essentially the same 'genetic' cultivar. Most are dedicated to raw consumption, although others are specifically for cooking or producing cider. Cider apples are typically too tart and astringent to eat fresh, but they give the drink a rich flavor that dessert apples cannot.

Varieties with denomination of origin, cider from Asturias

Cider from Asturias is a Protected Designation of Origin. Its elaboration is carried out exclusively with apples of the varieties included in nine technological blocks according to the acidity and the concentration of phenolic compounds. The blocks are: sweet, sweet-bitter, acid, semi-acid, bitter, semi-bitter-bitter, bitter-semi-acid, acid-bitter and bitter-acid.
Other characteristics that are also taken into account when choosing varieties are vigour, flowering time, production, sensitivity to fungi and ripening time.

Other species called apples

In addition to species of the genus Malus, other species of trees and shrubs of different genera produce fruits that are also commonly called "apple" in their native places, due to their similar appearance to real apples.

• Mexican "manzana", or tejolote (Fruto de la species Mexican Crataegus)
• The "manzana" Guagra or manzanita zerote (Fruto of the species Hesperomeles obtusifolia)
• The "manzana" Kei, or umkola (Fruto of the species Dovyalis caffra)
• The "manzana" of water (Fruto of the species Syzygium malaccense)
• The "manzana" of Java (Fruto of the species Syzygium samarangense)
• The "manzana" pedorra (Fruto of the species syzygium jambos)
• The "manzana" beach, or toco (Fruto of the species Crateva tapia)
• The "manzana" sapote, or white sapote (Fruto of the species Casimiroa edulis)
• The "manzana" of wood, or limonia (Fruto of the species Limonia acidissima)
• The "manzana" Guayaba (Fruto of the species Psidium guajava)

Nutrition

A raw apple is 86% water and 14% carbohydrates, with negligible fat and protein content. A reference serving of a raw apple with skin weighing 100 grams provides 52 calories and moderate dietary fiber content. Otherwise, there is low micronutrient content, with daily values for all falling below 10%, indicating a nutritionally poor food source.

Main components

• Pectins: They act as a soluble fiber. They help dissolve cholesterol and constitute compounds of interest in the fight against diabetes.
• Amino acids: Cistein (component of tissues, removes toxins from the liver); glycine (natural and responsible immune system) arginine (necessary for muscle growth and tissue repair, responsible with glycine of the immune system). Histidina (vasodylator and gastric juice stimulator. It fights anemia, arthritis and is very useful for ulcers). Isoleucina (necessary for adequate growth and for nitrogen balance). Lisine (interventes in the production of antibodies, tissue construction and calcium absorption). Serina (help to strengthen the immune system). Valine (favours child growth and intervenes in nitrogen balance). Methionine (necessary for the production of cysteine, helps fight cholesterol)
• Acids: glutamine (antiulcerous, tonic, increases mental capacity), linoleic (Vitamine F), málico, oleic, palmite and caffeic.
• Sugars: fructose, glucose and sausage.
• Catechines
• Quercetina
• Urgent acid
• Sorbitol
• Fiber
• Elements: calcium, iron, magnesium, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and zinc.

Toxicity

The apple lacks toxicity, if we except the ingestion of its seeds that, as in all rosaceae, contain acids that, combined with gastric juices, produce cyanide, although the ingestion of these would have to be very large to produce a fatal result..

Uses

Cooking use

In addition to being eaten raw, this fruit is widely used in the gastronomy of many countries, both alone and combined with different ingredients in sweet preparations such as compote, jam and syrup, or salty, accompanying different meat dishes. Vinegar and alcoholic beverages such as Asturian cider or French calvados are also made with it.

Medicinals

Internal use

• Antiflammatory of the digestive system: in cases of inflammation of the stomach, intestines or urinary tract.
• Antiacid: its contents in pectins, as well as the influence of glycine, which is a natural antiacid make it very suitable for cases of stomach acidity.
• Astringent and soft laxative: Although it seems contradictory its high content in pectins makes it a good regulator of the bowel apparatus, so it is a soft laxative in cases of constipation, especially when cooked in the oven and early in the morning. At the same time, the absorbing value of pectins and the fiber that is mainly placed on the skin make it ideal in cases of diarrhea, gastroenteritis (badly called colitis) and in all cases where too abundant and soft feces are manifested.
• Diuretic and depurative: favors the elimination of body fluids, being very suitable in cases of obesity, rheumatic diseases. Because of its cystine and arginine content as well as málic acid, it is very suitable to remove toxins that are stored in the body and which, in addition to combating or preventing the diseases mentioned above, are very suitable in conditions such as uric acid, gout, and treatment of kidney-related diseases such as kidney stones or kidney failure.
• Anticatarral: in case of bronchitis or cough, as well as when the breast is loaded, this plant is very suitable for its expectorant values.
• Antichoesterol: Methionine, its high phosphorus content and its richness in soluble fiber are fundamental in cholesterol control.
• Hypotensive: the vasodilating value of histidine makes it a good ally to lower blood pressure in cases of hypertension.
• Sedante: by its phosphorus content, it is a food with sedative properties, very suitable to take it before going to bed, which helps to sleep better.
• Antipyretic: to lower the fever.
• Antitabaco: a apple-only diet for a whole day can help you quit smoking.
• Anticancer: by its contents in catechine and quercetin, two phytochemicals that protect against the action of free radicals and, together with the procianidines, as procianidine A1 (the so-called condensed tannins), has anticancer properties.
• Antidiabetic: recent scientific studies attribute antidiabetic properties to apple seeds

External use

• Pain: To relax the tired muscles after a physical effort, avoiding pains and cramps a lotion can be applied on the pained area with apple vinegar.
• Fungicida: the cider vinegar can be used to remove the fungus from the feet, avoiding the burning sensation that often accompanies it.
• Apple vinegar has very beneficial properties for ear health. It is rich in potassium whose deficiency, together with magnesium, zinc and manganese, can produce deafness. It also hydrates and regenerates mucous, so it can help combat inner ear problems due to excessive dryness.
• Deodorizer: apple cider vinegar can be a good deodorant to remove the unpleasant smell produced by sweat in the armpits.
• Flacidez: is used for massages of the skin areas and to improve the appearance of the skin.
• Toothaches: The skin of this fruit helps to remove stains from the residues that leave the cigarette and old in the teeth.

Production

Different cultivars of apples packed in quality presentations, in the international market of Rungis, France.

The most important apple producers are China, the United States, Turkey, Poland and Italy; and together they represent 50% of the international production of deciduous fruit trees. It is one of the most cultivated fruits in the world, so in 2005 55 million tons were produced. Of these, two-fifths were from China. Other large producers are the United States, Turkey, France, Italy and Iran. The most important Latin American producers are Brazil and Chile, both with more than 1 million tons each, produced mainly in the south of (Brazil) and Alto Valle. del Río Negro (Argentina), areas where the climate and soil characteristics favor cultivation. Apples have acclimatized in Ecuador to high altitudes above sea level, where they provide harvest twice a year due to constant warm temperatures all year. It is the second most consumed fruit in the world with more than 19 pounds of whole apples per capita per year and more than 50 pounds of derived products, the apple is below the banana, the No. 1 fruit with more than 28 pounds consumed per year.

Perhaps for this reason it is the official fruit of 6 states, including New York, Minnesota and Washington.

World apple production in 2018 was 86 million tons, with China producing 46% of the total (table). Secondary producers were the United States and Poland.

Main apple producers (2018) (tonnes)
ChinaChina	39.233.400
United States	4.652,500
PolandPoland	3.999.523
TurkeyTurkey	3.625.960
IranIran	2.519.249
ItalyItaly	2.414.921
India	2.327,000
Russia Russia	1,859,400
France	1.737.412
ChileChile	1.727.277
Ukraine Ukraine	1.462.360
GermanyGermany	1.198.517
BrazilBrazil	1.195.007
UzbekistanUzbekistan	1.130.335
South Africa	829.636
Global total	86.142.200

Source

Additional bibliography

Books