Apple Growers
Tips & Advice to help you make your decision on Apple Growers
As apple growers or as distributors of apples, your business is focused on getting the best possible product to market when the fruit is at its peak of flavor. Consumers have realized the many health benefits provided from including fruit in their diets. Physicians and nutritionists agree that apples provide a great-tasting and healthy alternative to sugar-laden snacks. It is important for your business to be successful at satisfying demand for your products.
Inherent in this need to satisfy demand, businesses such as yours need to have reliable suppliers of seedlings for the cultivars you want to grow. Safe herbicides, fungicides and pesticides as well as packaging, storage and delivery methods and materials are also required. Transportation of your product to wholesale and retail markets is the final step in this process.
There are also many businesses which focus on the processing of apples to be made into applesauce, cider, vinegar, apple juices and as an ingredient in other foods and beverages. It is important for your business to find outlets for apples that are grown for these products.
If your business is focused on the distribution of fruit to wholesale and retail markets, you need to be informed about storage and transportation solutions and regulations to be successful in your business.
Locating reliable suppliers can be a daunting task. As apple growers, you may want to consider the resources and services offered by the vendors listed on Business.com to ensure that your apples reach consumers at their peak of flavor.
Apple Grower Key Terms
Use key terms to learn more about growing applesBy Emmet McMahan The apple tree (Malus domestica) is a small, deciduous tree in the rose family and is one of the most widely cultivated fruit trees. Its flowers are white with a pink tinge and blossom in the spring. The apple fruit can exceed three inches in diameter and ripens in autumn. Apple trees originated in Central Asia, and were one of the first trees to be cultivated. They were brought to North America by the first colonists in the 1600s and are currently one of the most important fruit crops in the United States.
Malic acid
Malic acid is the component in an apple that gives it a sour taste. Apples have a wide range of malic acid content, and this characteristic is an important consideration in developing new varieties of apples.
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Minnesota Harvest contains an extensive glossary of terms used by apple growers, including malic acid.
Grafting
Grafting is a process in which a section of a stem with leaf buds is attached to the stock of a different tree. Apple trees are commonly reproduced by grafting in order for them to breed true.
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The University of Minnesota Extension provides a more detailed description of grafting and the reasons for performing this procedure.
Carpel
A carpel is the structure of a flower that contains the incipient seeds. If the ovary can be divided into segments, each segment is a carpel. An apple consists of five carpels.
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Pollinator.com provides a list of terms for flower structures, including a more detailed definition of carpel.
Pome
A pome is an accessory fruit composed of five or more carpels in which the outermost layer of fruit forms an inconspicuous layer. The fruit of an apple tree is a type of pome.
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The University of Georgia has a glossary of terms related to fruit crops, including pome.
Cultivar
A cultivar is a cultivated variety of a plant that retains a specific set of characteristics when it is cultivated. Apple trees have an extremely large number of cultivars.
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The California Backyard Orchard provides a glossary of terms that are commonly used in growing fruit trees, such as cultivar.
Apple scab
Apple scab is a common fungal disease of apples that usually affects the fruit and leaves. Resistance to Apple scab is a common consideration when selecting which variety of apples to grow.
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Fruitful Land provides a detailed description of Apple scab, including photographs.
