GROWING VEGETABLES

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.