# istory By [rosia1618](https://paragraph.com/@rosia1618) · 2021-10-29 --- [_Malus sieversii_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malus_sieversii) is recognized as a major progenitor species to the cultivated apple, and is morphologically similar. Due to the genetic variability in Central Asia, this region is generally considered the center of origin for apples.[\[18\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple#cite_note-18) The apple is thought to have been domesticated 4000–10000 years ago in the [Tian Shan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tian_Shan) mountains, and then to have travelled along the [Silk Road](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silk_Road) to Europe, with hybridization and introgression of wild crabapples from Siberia (_M. baccata_), the Caucasus (_M. orientalis_), and Europe (_M. sylvestris_). Only the _M. sieversii_ trees growing on the western side of the Tian Shan mountains contributed genetically to the domesticated apple, not the isolated population on the eastern side.[\[17\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple#cite_note-naturesize-17) Chinese soft apples, such as [_M. asiatica_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M._asiatica) and [_M. prunifolia_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M._prunifolia), have been cultivated as dessert apples for more than 2000 years in China. These are thought to be hybrids between _M. baccata_ and _M. sieversii_ in Kazakhstan.[\[17\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple#cite_note-naturesize-17) Among the traits selected for by human growers are size, fruit acidity, color, firmness, and soluble sugar. Unusually for domesticated fruits, the wild _M. sieversii_ origin is only slightly smaller than the modern domesticated apple.[\[17\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple#cite_note-naturesize-17) At the [Sammardenchia-Cueis](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sammardenchia-Cueis&action=edit&redlink=1) site near Udine in Northeastern Italy, seeds from some form of apples have been found in material carbon dated to around 4000 BCE.[\[19\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple#cite_note-19) Genetic analysis has not yet been successfully used to determine whether such ancient apples were wild _Malus sylvestris_ or _Malus domesticus_ containing _Malus sieversii_ ancestry.[\[20\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple#cite_note-appledna-20) It is generally also hard to distinguish in the archeological record between foraged wild apples and apple plantations. There is indirect evidence of apple cultivation in the third millennium BCE in the [Middle East](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_East). There was substantial apple production in the European classical antiquity, and grafting was certainly known then.[\[20\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple#cite_note-appledna-20) Grafting is an essential part of modern domesticated apple production, to be able to propagate the best cultivars; it is unclear when apple tree grafting was invented.[\[20\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple#cite_note-appledna-20) Winter apples, picked in late autumn and stored just above freezing, have been an important food in [Asia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asia) and Europe for millennia.[\[21\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple#cite_note-app6-21) Of the many Old World plants that the Spanish introduced to [Chiloé Archipelago](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chilo%C3%A9_Archipelago) in the 16th century, apple trees became particularly well adapted.[\[22\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple#cite_note-Torrejonetal2004-22) Apples were introduced to North America by colonists in the 17th century,[\[5\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple#cite_note-app-5) and the first apple orchard on the North American continent was planted in [Boston](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston) by Reverend [William Blaxton](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Blaxton) in 1625.[\[23\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple#cite_note-23) The only apples native to North America are [crab apples](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crab_apples), which were once called "common apples".[\[24\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple#cite_note-lawrence122-24) 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.[\[24\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple#cite_note-lawrence122-24) In the 20th century, irrigation projects in [Eastern Washington](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Washington) began and allowed the development of the multibillion-dollar fruit industry, of which the apple is the leading product.[\[5\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple#cite_note-app-5) Until the 20th century, farmers stored apples in [frostproof cellars](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Root_cellar) during the winter for their own use or for sale. Improved transportation of fresh apples by train and road replaced the necessity for storage.[\[25\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple#cite_note-25)[\[26\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple#cite_note-26) [Controlled atmosphere](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/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. --- *Originally published on [rosia1618](https://paragraph.com/@rosia1618/istory)*