APPLE
How is the apple grown?
Commercial apple trees are not grown from seed because
apple seeds do not produce “true to variety.” Instead, apple growers use
grafting or budding to produce trees that will bear fruit of the same apple
variety.
An apple is formed when an apple blossom is pollinated
by travelling honeybees. If a particular apple blossom is well pollinated, the
resulting piece of fruit will contain an average of 5−12 seeds regardless of
the variety, and the piece of fruit can attain maximum size − other conditions
including weather permitting.
To create an apple tree of a particular variety,
orchardists graft a twig, called a scion, from the “parent” tree onto a small,
young tree called rootstock − really nothing more than a slender whip with
roots. The scion contains buds from which twigs and leaves will eventually
grow. The trees are protected in nurseries for 1−2 years after they are grafted
before being replanted by the grower in an orchard.
Bud wood of different trees can even be grafted onto
the same rootstock, creating a tree that will bear multiple varieties of
apples.
