Apple
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Read about Apple in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture
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Apple. Rosaceae. The fruit and tree of Pyrus Malus, one of the rosaceous group. The name is also applied, with qualifications, to many other edible fruits, as may- apple, pond-apple, rose-apple. The apple is native to southwestern Asia and adjacent Europe. It has been cultivated from time immemorial. Charred remains of the fruit are found in the prehistoric lake dwellings of Switzerland (Fig. 238). Now widely cultivated and immensely variable, the apple is grown in every temperate climate, and is probably the most important commercial pomological fruit. The apple has come apparently from two original stems. All the common apples are modifications of Pyrus Malus (see Pyrus), a low round-headed tree, with thick and fuzzy irregularly dent ate, short - stemmed leaves and fairly compact clusters of woolly-stemmed flowers. The crab-apples are derived chiefly from Pyrus baccata, commonly known as the Siberian crab. This species is probably of more northern or eastern origin than the other. It is of smoother and more wiry growth, with narrower and thinner essentially glabrous long-stemmed leaves, and more open clusters of glabrous-stemmed flowers. The apple is small and hard, and the calyx-lobes fall at maturity, leaving the eye or basin of the fruit smooth and plain. Hybrids between these species apparently have given the race of large-fruited crab-apples, of which the Transcendent and Hyslop are examples. The race known to botanists as Pyrus prunifolia is probably a hybrid group. Certain apples are native to North America. Two species, Pyrus ioensis and P. coronaria, are of interest to the pomologist. The former is the prairie-states crab, and is the more promising. In characters of growth, leaves and flowers, it bears a striking resemblance to forms of Pyrus Malus. The fruit is spherical or spherical-oblong, short-stemmed, very hard, and remains green-colored. The fruit of the eastern-states crab, Pyrus coronaria, is distinctly flattened endwise, and is long-stemmed. The leaves are deep-cut and often three-lobed. There are no improved varieties of this eastern species, and no authentic hybrids between it and the common apples. The fruit is sometimes used by settlers, but it has little comestible value. Pyrus ioensis has produced a number of promising hybrids with the common apple, and this mongrel race is known as Pyrus Soulardii. The Soulard crab is the best known of these. Its value lies only in its extreme hardiness. The pornological value of the native crabs is prospective. For a compléter account of the native apples, see Bailey, "Evolution of our Native Fruits." One of the most perfect apple regions of this country—considering productiveness, quality, long-keeping attributes, longevity of tree—is that which begins with Nova Scotia and extends to the west and southwest to Lake Michigan. Other important regions are the Piedmont country of Virginia and the highlands of of adjacent states; the Plains regions; the Ozark and Arkansas region; the intermountain region from Montana to New Mexico; the Northwest, including both large and small areas in British Columbia, Washington and Oregon; and the Pacific region, comprising the foothills and parts of the coast in California. All parts of the United States north of Florida and the Gulf borders, and excluding the warm-temperate parts of the Southwest, are adapted to the apple in greater or lesser degree. North America is the leading apple-growing country of the world. A full crop for the United States and Canada, of all kinds and grades, is probably not much less than 100,000,000 barrels, although it is doubtful whether more than one-third of this vast quantity is marketed in a fresh state. The apple is a cosmopolitan fruit, and, since it thrives almost anywhere, it is commonly neglected. The apple was early introduced into this country. In the first days it was prized chiefly for cider. It is an ancient and common notion that any apple is good enough for cider; and this is one reason for the neglect in which the apple plantation was commonly allowed to stand. Brief or summary statement. The best results in apple-growing are to be expected in general when the land is tilled. The reasons for tilling the orchard are those that apply to other crops,— to make plant-food available, to extend the area in which the roots can grow, to conserve moisture. It is especially important, in our hot and sunny country, that the roots extend deep enough to escape the disastrous effects of drought. The ideal treatment of orchard land is to fit the ground deep before the trees are planted, to plow deep for a year or two or three in order to force the roots down and thoroughly to ameliorate the soil, and to practise shallow tillage to conserve moisture. Since trees make most of their growth early in the season, the tillage should be begun as soon as the land is fit in spring; and it may be discontinued by midsummer or August. This cessation of the tillage allows of the growing of some cover-crop or catch-crop late in the season, in order to provide humus and to improve the physical texture of the soil. If the land is well handled in the first few years, it will not be necessary to turn a furrow in the orchard frequently thereafter, but merely to loosen the surface in the spring with a spading-harrow, spring-tooth harrow, or other tool, to reestablish the surface mulch. The only reasons for turning a furrow will occur when the land is so hard that the surface tools cannot mellow the surface, or when it is desirable to turn under a green-manure crop. Even hard lands may be got in such condition, by means of tillage and green-manures, that they may be worked up with harrow tools when the orchard comes into bearing. Plowing the orchard, therefore, has two legitimate objects: to mellow and ameliorate the land to a considerable depth, so that the roots may forage deep; to turn under a cover-crop. The former purpose should not be necessary after the first few plowings. An incidental object of plowing is to facilitate the making of the annual surface mulch; and this mulch is to save the moisture. On good lands in which there is a sufficient natural supply of moisture, the sod-mulch treatment may take the place of tillage. This procedure keeps the land in sod, and the grass is mown and allowed to remain on the ground or is spread under the trees. The apple thrives in a variety of soils. Lands that yield good crops of wheat and corn may be expected to be good apple lands, if other conditions are right. Rolling, inclined, or somewhat elevated lands are generally considered to be most desirable. Their value lies in the better drainage of water and air. The trees may be set in either fall or spring. Forty feet apart each way is the standard distance for apple trees; but some varieties, as the Wagener and the crabs, may be set closer. In the South and on the plains, trees may be set closer, as they do not attain such great size as in the northeastern states. In general, it is best to devote the land to apples alone; but persons who are willing to give the plantation the best of care may plant other trees between the apples as fillers. The more diverse the kinds of trees which are planted together, the more difficult it is to give the proper care to each. Some of the shorter-lived varieties of apples make excellent fillers in the apple orchard; and in special cases dwarf apples may be used. Although it should be the general purpose to till the apple orchard throughout its life, whenever the trees seem to be growing too rapidly, the plantation may be seeded down for a time. That is, tillage is the general practice; seeding down and sod-mulching are the special practices. For the first few years, annual crops may be grown in the apple orchard; but every year a more open space should be left about the trees. As often as the land becomes crusted it should be tilled. On strong lands which are well handled, it is rarely necessary to apply concentrated fertilizers until the trees are old enough to bear. What fertilizers are then needed, and how much to apply, are to be determined by the behavior of the trees. If the trees are making insufficient growth, and the foliage lacks color, one or all of three things may be the trouble: the trees may need water; they may be suffering from insects or disease; they may lack nitrogen. If it is thought that they lack nitrogen, this material may be supplied in the form of nitrate of soda, sulfate of ammonia, or the unburned animal substances, as blood and tankage. Two to three hundred pounds to the acre of the nitrate of soda or sulfate of ammonia are liberal applications on well-tilled lands. If the trees are making vigorous growth, the probability is that they are not in need of more nitrogen. Potash and phosphoric acid may then be applied. Three hundred pounds of muriate of potash, or other concentrated material, should be sufficient for an acre, under ordinary conditions. As a rule, all orchards in full bearing should have a liberal annual application of fertilizing materials. In the East, apple trees should be in profitable bearing at twelve years from planting, and should continue for thirty years. In recent years, lime has been applied in many cases with good results, about 1,000 pounds to the acre every four or five years. The two staple enemies of the apple are the apple-worm (the larva of the codlin-moth), and the apple- scab. These are readily held in check by spraying,—with arsenical poisons for the worm, and with lime - sulfur or bordeaux mixture for the scab. See Spraying. Spraying for the worm should be performed as soon as the last petals fall; for the scab as soon as the buds are well burst. In badly infected regions and on very susceptible varieties, it may be necessary to spray first for the scab before the buds swell. Since there are insects (as canker-worms, case-bearers, bud-moth) that appear before the flowers open, it is advisable to add arsenical poison to the fungicide at the early spraying. The number of times to spray depends on the thoroughness of the work, the pests to be combated, and the season; but it is a good rule to expect to spray with the combined fungicide and insecticide mixture when the buds burst, and again when the petals have fallen. In the plains country, less spraying may be necessary for the fungous diseases. The apple commonly bears on spurs. The fruit - bud is distinguished by its' greater size (usually somewhat thicker than its branch), its greater width in proportion to its length, and more conspicuous pubescence. It is also distinguished by its position. A fruit-bud is shown in Fig. 239. A fruit- scar is shown near the base of the branch. If this fruit was borne in 1912, the side branch grew in 1913 from a bud which came into existence in 1912. If we go back to the spring of 1912, the matter can be made plain. A cluster of flowers appeared. One flower set a fruit (Fig. 240). This apple is at the end of the branchlet or spur. The spur cannot increase in length in the same axis. Therefore, a bud appears on the side (Fig. 241). The fruit absorbs the energies of the spur. There is little nourishment left for the bud. The bud awaits its opportunity; the following year it grows into a branchlet and makes a fruit-bud at its end (Fig. 239); and thereby there arises an alternation in fruit-bearing, although not all alternating in fruit- bearing may be attributed to this cause. The difference between fruit-buds and leaf-buds becomes apparent when the buds burst (Fig. 242). The apple is budded or root-grafted on common apple seedlings. These seedlings are usually grown from seeds secured from cider mills. In the East, budded trees are preferred. In the upper Mississippi Valley, root-grafted trees are preferred, largely because own-rooted trees of known hardiness can be secured. In Russia, seedlings of Pyrus baccata are used as stocks. They prevent root-killing, and give earlier fruit-bearing. Apple trees are usually planted when two or three years old. Apples are dwarfed by working them on various kinds of Paradise and Doucin stocks. These stocks are merely naturally dwarf forms of the common apple, and which, in some remote time, have originated probably from seeds. Dwarf apples are much grown in Europe, where small-area cultivation and wall-training are common, but they are little known in America, and, because of economic conditions, are usually not profitable here. See Dwarfing. Varieties. The varieties of apple trees actually on sale in North America in any year are not far from 1,000 kinds. Each great geographical area has varieties that are particularly adapted to it. In the northern Mississippi Valley, there are few of the eastern-states apples that thrive. Varieties have been introduced from Russia with the expectation that they will be adapted to the region; but more is to be expected of their progeny than of themselves. Varieties of local origin, coming from various stem types, are now providing that region with satisfactory apples. In the selection of varieties, one should be guided by this adaptation to the region, and by the purpose for which the fruit is designed to be grown. Consult the recommended lists of the state horticultural societies; ask persons who have had experience in the given region; write to the experiment station; enquire at the markets. The leading commercial varieties in North America are Golden Russet (N. Y.), Red Astrachan, Baldwin (Fig. 243), Ben Davis (Fig. 244), Blue Pearmain (Fig. 245), Oldenburg (Duchess of), Esopus (Spitzenberg) (Fig. 246), Fameuse, Gano (Fig. 247), Black Gilliflower (Fig. 248), Gravenstein, Grimes (Fig. 249), Hubbardston (Fig. 250), Rails, Jonathan, Tompkins King, McIntosh, Missouri (Pippin), Newtown (Albemarle) (Fig. 251), Northern Spy (Fig. 252), Peck (Pleasant), Pennock, Rhode Island Greening (Fig. 253), Rome Beauty (Fig. 254), Shockley, Twenty Ounce, Wealthy (Fig. 255), Willow (Twig), Winesap and Stayman Winesap (Fig. 256), Wolf River, Yellow Bellflower, York Imperial (Fig. 257), King (Fig. 258). Baldwin and Ben Davis, the former of secondary quality and the latter of worse, hold the supremacy in American market apples. The apples of the eastern and central country tend toward flattened or oblate shape (Figs. 258-9). The typical form of the so-called long or conical American apple may be seen in Fig. 260. Many odd and unusual varieties are grown for dessert, one of which is shown in Fig. 261. Monuments or markers have been erected to a few of the most noted varieties of apples. Fig. 262 shows the monument erected in Wilmington, near Lowell, Mass., in 1895, to the Baldwin, with the following inscription: This Pillar Erected In 1895 By The Rumford Historical Association Incorporated April 28, 1877 Marks the estate where in 1793 Samuel Thompson, Esq., while locating the line of the Middlesex Canal, discovered the first Pecker apple tree. Later named the Baldwin. The first tablet in New York state in memory of any apple was erected in the town of Camillus, Onondaga County, on the original site of the Primate apple tree (Fig. 263). John T. Roberts, Syracuse, N. Y., on September 11, 1903, caused a bronze tablet to be erected there. On this tablet is the following inscription: On this farm Calvin D. Bingham, about 1840, produced the marvellous Primate Apple Named by Charles P. Cowles God's Earth Is Full Of Love To Man A second marker was erected in New York in 1912 to the Northern Spy, Early Joe and Melon apples, at Bloomfield, by the Ontario County Fruit-Growers' Society (Fig. 264), with the following tablet: The Original Northern Spy Apple Tree stood about 14 rods south of this spot, in a seedling orchard planted by Hemán Chapín about 1800. The Early Joe And Melon Apples Also Originated In This Orchard The Mclntosh apple (Mclntosh Red) is commemorated (Fig. 265) by a monument at Dundela, Dundas County, Ontario, as follows: The Original McIntosh Red Apple Tree stood about 20 rods north of this spot. It was one of a number of seedlings taken from the border of the clearings and transplanted by John Mclntosh in the year 1796. Erected By Popular Subscription 1912. The history is that John Mclntosh came to Canada with the United Empire Loyalists. After spending gome time along the frontier, he settled on his homestead in the county of Dundas in 1790 at a place later called Mclntosh's Corners, although that place has now become extinct and Dundela has taken its place. In the year 1796 while clearing some forest land, he came upon a clump of young apple trees, bout twenty in number. As apples were at that time a luxury, the apple trees were left unharmed, and a few days after were replanted in a clearing nearer his house. Most of the trees thrived for a few years but finally died. In 1830 only one tree out of the twenty remained. As this apple was unnamed, Mr. Mclntosh combined his own name with the color of the apple and christened it "Mclntosh Red." From the time it was transplanted, it grew rapidly and in a few years bore an abundance of fruit the color and flavor of which attracted the attention of the earlier settlers. It was situated about fifteen feet from the house, and when in 1893 the house was burned, the tree also received its share of the fire and one side was badly burned. Nevertheless, the other side continued to near until 1908. That summer the leaves began to wilt and the apples to fall off until it was entirely bare. Thus the old tree which had withstood the storm of 112 years was forced at last to submit to the injuries received from the fire of 1893 (Fig. 266). The wide circulation of the Mclntosh apple is due to his son, the late Allen Mclntosh, who, fully appreciating the fruit, wished others to enjoy it also and started propagating by grafting and budding from the original tree. This has been repeated year after year since 1836. The origin of the Wealthy apple, the leading variety of the upper Mississippi Valley, is commemorated on the monument erected to the memory of Peter M. Gideon, Excelsior, Minnesota (Fig. 267). The tablet was unveiled and dedicated with appropriate ceremonies on the old farmstead, where he passed the last forty-six years of his life, at 2 o'clock on the afternoon of Saturday, June 15, 1912. The memorial consists of a block of granite, raised on a platform of solid concrete, surrounded by a chain supported by a number of black iron posts. On the sloping top of stone is a bronze tablet bearing this inscription: This Tablet commemorates Peter M. Gideon who grew the original Wealthy Apple Tree from seed on this, his homestead, in 1864. Erected by the Native Sons of Minnesota, June, 1912. The triangular piece of ground on which this is placed containing approximately a half-acre, is surrounded by a chain and post fence, gift of O. P. Briggs, is dedicated as ' Park." It lies on the main traveled boulevard between Excelsior and Minnetonka Beach, a few hundred feet south of the Manitou station on the electric line. Special literature. Several books devoted wholly to the apple have appeared in North America: Warder, Apples, 1867; Todd, Apple Culturist, 1871; Apple Orchard, 1908; Burritt, Apple Growing, 1912; Woolverton, Canadian Apple Grower's Guide. For varieties, the two volumes, Beach, Apples of New York, published by the New York Agricultural Experiment Station, at Geneva, are invaluable. Consult, also, Vol. 25, Nebraska State Horticultural Society. 1894; The Apple, a report of the Kansas State Horticultural Society, 1898. Nearly all the fruit manuals devote space to the apple.
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| Lifespan: | ⌛ | perennial |
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| Origin: | ✈ | C Asia |
| Exposure: | ☼ | full sun"full sun" is not in the list (sun, part-sun, shade, unknown) of allowed values for the "Exposure" property. |
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| Water: | ◍ | regular while fruit develop"regular while fruit develop" is not in the list (wet, moist, moderate, dry, less when dormant) of allowed values for the "Water" property. |
| Sunset Zones: | vary by variety |
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Rosaceae > |
Malus > |
The apple is a fruiting tree, of the species Malus domestica. Now widely cultivated and immensely variable, the apple is grown in every temperate climate, and is probably the most important commercial pomological fruit.
- More information about this species can be found on the genus page.
Cultivation
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The best results in apple-growing are to be expected in general when the land is tilled. The reasons for tilling the orchard are those that apply to other crops,— to make plant-food available, to extend the area in which the roots can grow, to conserve moisture. It is especially important, in our hot and sunny country, that the roots extend deep enough to escape the disastrous effects of drought. 1 he ideal treatment of orchard land is to fit the ground deep before the trees are planted, to plow deep for a year or two or three in order to force the roots down and thoroughly to ameliorate the soil, and to practise shallow tillage to conserve moisture. Since trees make most of their growth early in the season, the tillage should be begun as soon as the land is fit in spring; and it may be discontinued by midsummer or August. This cessation of the tillage allows of the growing of some cover-crop or catch-crop late in the season, in order to provide humus and to improve the physical texture of the soil. If the land is well handled in the first few years, it will not be necessary to turn a furrow in the orchard frequently thereafter, but merely to loosen the surface in the spring with a spading-harrow, spring-tooth harrow, or other tool, to reestablish the surface mulch. The only reasons for turning a furrow will occur when the land is so hard that the surface tools cannot mellow the surface, or when it is desirable to turn under a green-manure crop. Even hard lands may be got in such condition, by means of tillage and green-manures, that they may be worked up with harrow tools when the orchard comes into bearing. Plowing the orchard, therefore, has two legitimate objects: to mellow and ameliorate the land to a considerable depth, so that the roots may forage deep; to turn under a cover-crop. The former purpose should not be necessary after the first few plowings. An incidental object of plowing is to facilitate the making of the annual surface mulch; and this mulch is to save the moisture.
On good lands in which there is a sufficient natural supply of moisture, the sod-mulch treatment may take the place of tillage. This procedure keeps the land in sod, and the grass is mown and allowed to remain on the ground or is spread under the trees.
The apple thrives in a variety of soils. Lands that yield good crops of wheat and corn may be expected to be good apple lands, if other conditions are right. Rolling, inclined, or somewhat elevated lands are generally considered to be most desirable. Their value lies in the better drainage of water and air. The trees may be set in either fall or spring. Forty feet apart each way is the standard distance for apple trees; but some varieties, as the Wagener and the crabs, may be set closer. In the South and on the plains, trees may be set closer, as they do not attain such great size as in the northeastern states. In general, it is best to devote the land to apples alone; but persons who are willing to give the plantation the best of care may plant other trees between the apples as fillers. The more diverse the kinds of trees which are planted together, the more difficult it is to give the proper care to each. Some of the shorter-lived varieties of apples make excellent fillers in the apple orchard; and in special cases dwarf apples may be used.
Although it should be the general purpose to till the apple orchard throughout its life, whenever the trees seem to be growing too rapidly, the plantation may be seeded down for a time. That is, tillage is the general practice; seeding down and sod-mulching are the special practices. For the first few years, annual crops may be grown in the apple orchard; but every year a more open space should be left about the trees. As often as the land becomes crusted it should be tilled. On strong lands which are well handled, it is rarely necessary to apply concentrated fertilizers until the trees are old enough to bear. What fertilizers are then ; needed, and how much ; to apply, are to be determined by the behavior of the trees. If the trees are making insufficient growth, and the foliage lacks color, one or all of three things may be the trouble: the trees may need water; they may be suffering from insects or disease; they may lack nitrogen. If it is thought that they lack nitrogen, this material may be supplied in the form of nitrate of soda, sulfate of ammonia, or the unburned animal substances, as blood and tankage. Two to three hundred pounds to the acre of the nitrate of soda or sulfate of ammonia are liberal applications on well-tilled lands. If the trees are making vigorous growth, the probability is that they are not in need of more nitrogen. Potash and phosphoric acid may then be applied. Three hundred pounds of muriate of potash, or other concentrated material, should be sufficient for an acre, under ordinary conditions. As a rule, all orchards in full bearing should have a liberal annual application of fertilizing materials. In the East, apple trees should be in profitable bearing at twelve years from planting, and should continue for thirty years. In recent years, lime has been applied in many cases with good results, about 1,000 pounds to the acre every four or five years.
Propagation
Grafting to reproduce cultivars. Seeds to produce rootstocks or new varieties.
Pests and diseases
Mildew, aphids, apple scab, fireblight, Gymnosporangium rust, and black spot. The soft bark on a young apple tree may be fed upon by pests like mice and deer, especially in winter.
The two staple enemies of the apple are the apple-worm (the larva of the codlin- moth), and the apple- scab. These are readily held in check by spraying with arsenical poisons for the worm, and with lime - sulfur or bordeaux mixture for the scab. See Spraying. Spraying for the worm should be performed as soon as the last petals fall; for the scab as soon as the buds are well burst. In badly infected regions and on very susceptible varieties, it may be necessary to spray first for the scab before the buds swell. Since there are insects (as canker-worms, case-bearers, bud-moth) that appear before the flowers open, it is advisable to add arsenical poison to the fungicide at the early spraying. The number of times to spray depends on the thoroughness of the work, the pests to be combated, and the season; but it is a good rule to expect to spray with the combined fungicide and insecticide mixture when the buds burst, and again when the petals have fallen. In the plains country, less spraying may be necessary for the fungous diseases.
Cultivars
There are more than 7,500 known cultivars of apple.
Gallery
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A display of different apples
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photo 3
See also
References
External links
- w:Apple. Some of the material on this page may be from Wikipedia, under the Creative Commons license.
- Apple QR Code (Size 50, 100, 200, 500)