THE APPLE IS THE POMACEOUS FRUIT OF THE APPLE
TREE, SPECIES MALUS DOMESTICA IN THE ROSE FAMILY
(ROSACEAE). IT IS ONE OF THE MOST WIDELY
CULTIVATED TREE FRUITS, AND THE MOST WIDELY
KNOWN OF THE MANY MEMBERS OF GENUS MALUS THAT
ARE USED BY HUMANS. APPLES GROW ON SMALL,
DECIDUOUS TREES. THE TREE ORIGINATED IN
CENTRAL ASIA, WHERE ITS WILD ANCESTOR, MALUS
SIEVERSII, IS STILL FOUND TODAY. APPLES HAVE BEEN
GROWN FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS IN ASIA AND
EUROPE, AND WERE BROUGHT TO NORTH AMERICA BY
EUROPEAN COLONISTS. APPLES HAVE BEEN PRESENT
IN THE MYTHOLOGY AND RELIGIONS OF MANY
CULTURES, INCLUDING NORSE, GREEK AND CHRISTIAN
TRADITIONS. IN 2010, THE FRUIT'S GENOME WAS
DECODED, LEADING TO NEW UNDERSTANDINGS OF
DISEASE CONTROL AND SELECTIVE BREEDING IN
APPLE PRODUCTION. THERE ARE MORE THAN 7,500
KNOWN CULTIVARS OF APPLES, RESULTING IN A RANGE
OF DESIRED CHARACTERISTICS. DIFFERENT CULTIVARS
ARE BRED FOR VARIOUS TASTES AND USES, INCLUDING
COOKING, FRESH EATING AND CIDER PRODUCTION.
DOMESTIC APPLES ARE GENERALLY PROPAGATED BY
GRAFTING, ALTHOUGH WILD APPLES GROW READILY
FROM SEED. TREES ARE PRONE TO A NUMBER OF
FUNGAL, BACTERIAL AND PEST PROBLEMS, WHICH CAN
BE CONTROLLED BY A NUMBER OF ORGANIC AND NON-
ORGANIC MEANS. ABOUT 69 MILLION TONNES OF
APPLES WERE GROWN WORLDWIDE IN 2010, AND
CHINA PRODUCED ALMOST HALF OF THIS TOTAL. THE
UNITED STATES IS SECOND-LEADING PRODUCER WITH
MORE THAN 6% OF WORLD PRODUCTION. TURKEY IS
THIRD, FOLLOWED BY ITALY, INDIA AND POLAND.
APPLES ARE OFTEN EATEN RAW, BUT CAN ALSO BE
FOUND IN MANY PREPARED FOODS (ESPECIALLY
DESSERTS) AND DRINKS. MANY BENEFICIAL HEALTH
EFFECTS ARE THOUGHT TO RESULT FROM EATING
APPLES; HOWEVER, TWO FORMS OF ALLERGIES ARE
SEEN TO VARIOUS PROTEINS FOUND IN THE FRUIT. The
apple forms a tree that is small and deciduous, generally
standing 6 to 15 feet (1.8 to 4.6 m) in cultivation, more in the
wild 1860
