# Apple

By [Bio1](https://paragraph.com/@mylovehere) · 2023-02-01

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An **apple** is an edible [fruit](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fruit) produced by an **apple tree** (**_Malus domestica_**). Apple [trees](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fruit_tree) are [cultivated](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agriculture) worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the [genus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genus) [_Malus_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malus). The [tree](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tree) originated in [Central Asia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Asia), where its wild ancestor, [_Malus sieversii_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malus_sieversii), is still found today. Apples have been grown for thousands of years in Asia and Europe and were brought to North America by [European colonists](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_colonization_of_the_Americas). Apples have [religious](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion) and [mythological](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mythology) significance in many cultures, including [Norse](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norse_mythology), [Greek](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_mythology), and [European Christian](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity_in_Europe) tradition.

Apples grown from seed tend to be very different from those of their parents, and the resultant fruit frequently lacks desired characteristics. Generally, apple [cultivars](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultivar) are propagated by clonal [grafting](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grafting) onto [rootstocks](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rootstock). Apple trees grown without rootstocks tend to be larger and much slower to fruit after planting. Rootstocks are used to control the speed of growth and the size of the resulting tree, allowing for easier harvesting.

There are more than 7,500 known [cultivars of apples](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_apple_cultivars). Different cultivars are bred for various tastes and uses, including [cooking](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cooking_apple), eating raw, and [cider](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_cider) production. Trees and fruit are prone to a number of [fungal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fungus), bacterial, and pest problems, which can be controlled by a number of [organic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organic_farming) and non-organic means. In 2010, the fruit's [genome](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genome) was [sequenced](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DNA_sequencing) as part of research on disease control and selective breeding in apple production.

Worldwide production of apples in 2018 was 86 million [tonnes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tonnes), with China accounting for nearly half of the total.

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*Originally published on [Bio1](https://paragraph.com/@mylovehere/apple)*