Hello everybody
We would like to give you some Information about the plant "appletree".
But first, why have we choosen this topic?
It was our first idea! At the break before some other students ate some apples. That is the way how we found our topic.
« AN APPLE A DAY KEEPS THE DOCTOR AWAY! »
Here you can find our Information about "appletree"
General information:
Plant family: Rosaceae
Plant genus: Malus
Plant species: Malus domestica
Plant origin: Asia and europe
Origin:
The appletree comes from Central and Western Asia, the apple was cultivated in the area of today's Kazakhstan around 10,000 before christ.
Apple varieties:
Apples are classified into summer apples (for example: Klarapfel, Gravensteiner), autumn apples (for example: Golden Delicious, Cox'Orange, Elstar) and winter apples (for example: Boskop, Gloster, Jonathan). There are over 1000 varieties of apple trees in about 25 different species!
Locations
Some apple trees may grow on so-called orchards. They are planted with some distance to eachother that they have enough room to grow. These apple trees grow up to ten meters high and have a big crown.
Many animals find their home in these trees. Birds build their nests in the treetops. Bees, bumblebees and many other insects collect nectar and pollen.
In apple orchards, on the other hand, only trees are planted that do not grow very high but carry a large number of apples. This has the advantage that the fruit can be picked more easily and the crop is rich.
Blossom and fruit:
Apples belong to the genus of rose plants. The culture apple tree has white to pink flowers and fruits with sour or sweet flesh. Apples are available in green, yellow or red colors.
Harvest
Most apple varieties are ripe in September and October. Apples taste best when stored for a few days before being eaten. Apples are always picked by hand. They must be taken very carefully from the tree, so that they don’t have "injuries".
Source 1 Source 2
In Europe alone, there are almost 20 000 apple varieties, but a maximum of 50 of them have an economic significance. Most of the "classic" apple varieties are not much more than 100 years old. One of the oldest still existing varieties was even known by the Romans. Its name is Sternapi. (Source)
We have a lot of apple orchards in Switzerland so we do not have to import apples into switzerland. Most apples we can buy, are regional. This means, that most of the apples we eat come from the sourrounding region and because of that, they have just to travel in switzerland and just for a few kilometres.
Apple and Health:
The apple is a healthy fruit. It consists of 85% water and contains plenty of healthy vitamins and minerals. They are vital to the body. An apple is also rich in fiber and good for digestion. Apples contain hardly any fat, but a lot of fructose. Fructose does not make you fat and provides lots of energy! An apple is an ideal snack!
One can find the apple in the bible story of Adam and Eva. But also in the legends and fairy tales the apple appears frequently (for example in the fairy tale of Snow White).
Deseases:
Fire Blight is a bacterial disease caused by Erwinia amylovora. It can be widely spread in apple orchards with wet and warm climate. As its name reveals, fire blight finally makes the shoots and branches look like they are burned.
Apple Scab is a fungal disease, caused by Venturia inaequalis. It mainly attacks first the leaves and then the flowers and fruits. The first symptoms are olive green spots that appear on the leaves. The spots often increase, darken and merge together, making the leaves look dark brown. Then, the spots appear on the fruits. Infected fruits become hard and dark brown and their flesh often crack opens, making them unsuitable for marketing.
Source 1 Source 2
rotten appletree
sick apple tree
Tamara's family owns a farm. Their parents also produce a lot of diffrent apple varieties. They have popular varieties like gala but also new varieties, which are not well known, for example honey crisp. Here you can find some pictures of their orchard.
We hope, we could give you some interesting information about the plant "apple tree".
Jeannine, Matthias, and Tamara, BM2 TZ 2019