The genus Malus.
Rosaceae; Malus
Morphological habits: Deciduous trees, the height of which can reach 15 meters, are generally 3-5 meters high under cultivation conditions. The trunk is grayish brown, the old bark has irregular longitudinal cracks or flaking, and the branchlets are smooth. Simple leaves alternate, oval to ovoid, with serrated leaves. Corymb with white petals, pink buds, 20 stamens and 5 styles. Fruit is a kind of kernel, and its color and size vary with varieties. Like light, like slightly acidic to neutral soil. It is most suitable for sandy soil with deep soil layer, rich organic matter and good ventilation and drainage of core soil.
Reproduction by grafting. There are two kinds of rootstocks: arbor rootstocks and dwarf rootstocks. Commonly used tree rootstocks are Juglans mandshurica, Haitang Xifu and Vitex negundo, and dwarf rootstocks are mainly imported from Britain. Wide rows and close planting are adopted, and the behavior is north-south. The soil in southern China is planted before freezing in autumn and winter, and in northern China it is planted during thawing in spring. Apple is weak in self-fruiting, so pollination trees must be arranged when planting.
Resource distribution: native to Southeast Europe, Asia Minor and South Caucasus. 1870 was introduced to Yantai, China, and has been widely cultivated in the southeast of Northeast China, North China and Northwest China in recent years.
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Fruit-bearing habit of apple
1. Flower bud and flower: The flower bud differentiation of apple began in early June and was completed before winter. The whole process is divided into three stages: physiological differentiation, morphological differentiation and sexual cell maturation. The flower buds are mixed buds and the inflorescences are corymbose cymes. There are 5-8 miscellaneous flowers in each inflorescence, mostly 5. The central flower blooms first, and the marginal flower blooms later. The central flower has the best quality, stable fruit and large fruit. When thinning flowers and fruits, the central flowers and fruits should be kept, and the marginal flowers and fruits should be thinned more. The bud leaves first, then blooms, and shoots from the fruit table. The number and length of branches on the fruit table vary with varieties and nutritional conditions of fruiting mother branches. Varieties with strong secondary branches and long and strong branches, such as Zhuguang, have small fruits, low yield and loose fruiting branches. This variety uses thinning 1, leaving 1 and pinching new shoots to control the growth of secondary branches. Varieties with medium secondary branch growth (1 or 2), short branches (below 10 cm) and thick branches, such as Jin Shuai and Jonakin, have large fruits, high yield, compact fruiting branches, easy regeneration and strong continuous fruiting ability. Varieties with weak secondary shoot growth (1) and short branches (less than 3 cm), such as Yuan Shuai and Enpai, have large fruits, compact fruiting branches, easy to form chicken feet branches and easy to update. However, most fruit forests bear fruit every other year, so more reserve branches should be left to reduce the fruit bearing in different years.
2. Fruit: Apple's fruit is a fake fruit developed from ovary and receptacle, in which ovary develops into heart, receptacle develops into meat and embryo develops into seed. The volume expansion of fruit depends on the increase of the number of rapidly dividing cells in the early stage and the volume expansion of cells in the later stage.
The volume expansion of fruit is faster in the middle period to before ripening, slower in the early and late period, and the fruit weight increases fastest in the month before ripening. The length of fruit development period is generally 65-87 days for early-maturing varieties, 90- 133 days for middle-maturing varieties and 137- 168 days for late-maturing varieties.
Fruit color is an important indicator of commodities. The quality of apple coloring is closely related to the accumulation of sugar, the coordination of mineral elements, environmental conditions, and the types and contents of hormones. Controlling application of nitrogen fertilizer, increasing application of potassium fertilizer, reducing chlorophyll in peel, improving ventilation and light transmission conditions, improving sunshine, good drainage, reducing air humidity, spraying NAA and 2.4-D hormone can all promote apple coloring.
From the appearance of buds to the harvest of fruits, apples usually have four flowers and fruits. The first time in the final flowering period, the pedicel falls off with withering, which is usually called falling flower. The second time, about a week after flower dropping, the ovary is slightly enlarged and lasts for 5-20 days, which is called early fruit dropping. The third time, 7- 14 days after the second fruit drop, the fruit has reached the thumb, which has a great impact on the yield. It's called physiological fruit drop. Yunnan usually occurs in May, and the phenology in the north is later than that in Yunnan, and it occurs in June, so it is called "June fruit drop". The fourth time, before the fruit is harvested, the mature or nearly mature fruit is dropped, so it is called pre-harvest fruit drop.
The first and second falling flowers and fruits are mainly caused by insufficient nutrition and poor pollination and fertilization. The third fruit drop is caused by the fierce competition for nutrients among fruits and the lack of auxin in embryos. Because the osmotic pressure of leaves is greater than that of young fruits, and the power to compete for nutrients is also stronger than that of young fruits, it is necessary to topdressing Xie Hua flower fertilizer to supplement nutrients in time besides pinching and pruning in time to inhibit the growth of new shoots.
3. Seed: Developed from fertilized eggs in embryo sac. The normal fruit of apple has five ventricles, and there are two seeds in each ventricle. In the process of fruit development, seeds secrete hormones to stimulate the growth of pulp, so those with good pollination and fertilization, full seeds, correct fruit shape and full pulp; On the other hand, on the side with poor seed development or no seed, the pulp becomes thin and deformed, so pollination trees must be arranged to improve the pollination effect.
Requirements for external environmental conditions
1. Temperature: Apple is a temperate fruit tree, which likes cool, cool and dry. It is required that there is no cold in winter and no coolness in summer, with small annual variation and large daily variation. The suitable temperature range is the annual average temperature of 9- 14℃, the extreme minimum temperature in winter is not lower than-12℃, the highest monthly average temperature in summer is not higher than 20℃, the annual accumulated temperature is about 5000℃ ≥ 10℃, and the average temperature in the growing season (April-10) is 60. Low temperature time is not enough, leaves and flowers are delayed irregularly, and some flower buds don't even germinate. In May, the scales became loose and fell off, which became a dead pile and seriously reduced production. When the absolute low temperature is lower than -30-32℃, freezing injury occurs again. According to the survey, the performance of apples at different altitudes and temperatures in Yunnan is as follows.
Table 1 apple performance at different altitudes and temperatures in Yunnan
Suitability of altitude (m), annual average temperature (m) and growth law of pests and diseases to high-yield fruit quality.
Below 1800 and above 15, the differential weight is abnormal and inappropriate.
1800-200014-15, the heavier one is less suitable than the normal one.
2000-2200 13- 14 it is normal and appropriate to be rich and light.
2400—2500 12— 12.5
2200-2400 12- 13 Excellent, extremely light and normal are most suitable.
In the area of 2200-2400 meters and the average temperature 12- 13℃, the main reasons for the good performance of apples are the large temperature difference between day and night in summer and autumn, sufficient accumulated temperature and strong ultraviolet rays. Apple shows high and stable yield, bright fruit color, high fruit shape, five edges, high sugar and vitamin C content, low acid content, high pectin viscosity and flavor. In winter, the low temperature is sufficient, the fruit trees can successfully pass the natural dormancy, and the flower buds are of good quality. In the next spring, they germinate on time, germinate and blossom neatly, have a high fruit setting rate, and have few pests and diseases, which is the most suitable area for apples. The areas with an altitude of 2000-2200m, an annual average temperature of 13- 14℃ and an altitude of 2400-2500m, and an annual average temperature of 12- 12.5℃ are suitable areas for apples, which are adjacent to the upper and lower areas of the most suitable areas. The altitude is 65,438+0,800-2,000m, and the annual average temperature is 65,438+0.4-65,438+0.5℃. The temperature is higher in winter, and the dormant period can basically be passed in the "cold winter" year, and the performance is normal in the following year. In the "warm winter" year, if dormancy cannot be successfully broken, germination will be delayed, flowering will be irregular and yield will be reduced, which is the second suitable area for apples. In areas below 1800 meters above sea level and above 15℃, the temperature is too high in summer and autumn, and the temperature drops later, which not only leads to large color difference, low sugar content and high acid content of fruits, but also leads to lush branches and leaves, long vegetative growth period, delayed defoliation and poor flower bud differentiation. The temperature in winter is too high, and the low temperature hours in dormancy period are insufficient, so that the flower buds can't survive the dormancy period, which disturbs the normal life law and leads to physiological disorder. In the next spring, the germination and flowering are irregular, the fruit setting rate is low, and many diseases and insect pests are serious. Above 2600 meters above sea level, the annual average temperature is less than 9℃, the annual accumulated temperature and growth temperature are insufficient, the tree body becomes shorter, the internodes become shorter, the number of fruit cells is less, and the expansion coefficient is small, resulting in small fruit, thick skin, hard meat and low sugar, which are all unsuitable areas for apple growth. Therefore, to develop apples, we should choose the most suitable and suitable areas to build gardens, give full play to the local natural advantages and excellent characteristics of varieties, obtain high-yield and high-quality fruits, and receive the best economic benefits.
2. Rainfall: Although apples are native to dry inland climate areas in summer, they prefer dry environment, but they still need sufficient water and suitable air humidity to grow and develop normally during the growing period; However, excessive rainfall and humidity will lead to dense branches and leaves, serious pests and diseases, large color difference of fruits and low acid concentration of sugar. Generally, the annual rainfall is 500- 1000mm and the air humidity is 60%-70%. Because the rainfall in Yunnan is unevenly distributed in time and space, and the dry season is clear, it should be irrigated once a month in the dry season from February to May in order to meet the water needed for budding, flowering and fruiting. Drainage should be done well in rainy season to reduce soil water content and air humidity, so as to reduce the occurrence of pests and diseases and improve fruit quality.
3. Light: Apple is a kind of fruit tree that likes light. According to the determination, the light compensation point of most varieties is 600-940 lux, and the saturation point is 24,000-75,000 lux. Insufficient light directly reduces photosynthesis and tree nutrition, and affects fruit coloring and sugar conversion; Too strong direct light and too long exposure time can easily cause burns to branches and fruits. Therefore, it is necessary to choose a good garden, do a good job of styling pruning, improve ventilation transparency, and have a reasonable number of curtains in order to avoid the above disadvantages.
4. Terrain: Flat land, mountain land, beach and floodplain can be planted, but the gentle slope land with abundant sunshine, openness, leeward and good surrounding vegetation is the most suitable for planting. Depression, gully, although the soil layer is deep, but the illumination is poor, it is easy to accumulate water in rainy season, and the air humidity is too high; The steep slope, shallow soil layer, thin soil and heavy soil erosion are not conducive to the growth of fruit trees.
5. Soil: Apple is not strict about soil. Clay, sandy soil and loam can be used, but sandy loam with deep soil layer and loose and fertile soil is the best. Thick soil with shallow soil layer and many gravels must be improved before planting. The adaptive PH range is pH 5.3-8.2, and the optimum pH is 5.4-6.8. If it is lower than 5.4, the acidity is too strong, and it is easy to produce fruit shrinkage and bitter pox due to boron and calcium deficiency; Above 7.8, it is alkaline, and it is easy to lack iron, which leads to the loss of green leaves.
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Garden use, flowering period for viewing; In the fruit-bearing season, fruits are numerous, colorful and attractive.
Apple originated in Europe, Central Asia, West Asia and Turkey, and was introduced to China in19th century.
"An apple a day" is a well-known health slogan. Indeed, apples are rich in sugars, organic acids, cellulose, vitamins, minerals, polyphenols and flavonoids, and are called "all-round healthy fruits" by scientists. So, what health care function makes it win such a good reputation?
Hypolipidemic: The human experiment of Japan Fruit Research Institute showed that after eating two apples a day, the triglyceride level in subjects' blood decreased by 265,438+0% after three weeks, and the high triglyceride level was the chief culprit of arteriosclerosis. After apple pectin enters the human body, it can combine with bile acids, absorb excess cholesterol and triglycerides like a sponge, and then excrete it. At the same time, the acetic acid decomposed by apple is beneficial to the catabolism of these two substances. In addition, vitamins, fructose and magnesium in apples can also reduce their content.
Lowering blood pressure: Excessive sodium is an important factor causing hypertension and stroke. Apples contain enough potassium, which can be combined with excess sodium in the body and excreted, thus lowering blood pressure. At the same time, potassium ion can effectively protect blood vessels and reduce the incidence of hypertension and stroke. Dr Susan Arlich, a famous British pharmacologist, found that polyphenols and flavonoids contained in apples can effectively prevent cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.
Prevention of cancer: A study by Hirosaki University in Japan confirmed that polyphenols in apples can inhibit the proliferation of cancer cells. A study in Finland is even more exciting: flavonoids contained in apples are an efficient antioxidant, not only the best vascular cleaner, but also the bane of cancer. If people eat more apples, the risk of lung cancer can be reduced by 46%, and the risk of other cancers can also be reduced by 20%. The latest research by the French National Institute of Health Medicine also tells us that proanthocyanidins in apples can prevent colon cancer.
Antioxidant effect: The research team of Cornell University in the United States soaked the brain cells of mice in a liquid containing quercetin and vitamin C, and found that the antioxidant capacity of brain cells was significantly enhanced. Compared with other fruits and vegetables, quercetin in apples is the best, and red apples are better than yellow apples and green apples. Therefore, apples are the best food for patients with Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease.
Strengthening bones: apples contain mineral elements boron and manganese that can strengthen bones. A study in the United States found that boron can greatly increase the concentration of estrogen and other compounds in the blood, which can effectively prevent calcium loss. Medical experts believe that if menopausal women can consume 3 grams of boron every day, their calcium loss rate can be reduced by 46%, and menopausal women eat more apples, which is beneficial to the absorption and utilization of calcium and the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis.
Maintain acid-base balance: 70% of diseases occur in people with acidic constitution, and apples are alkaline foods. Eating apples can quickly neutralize excessive acidic substances in the body (including acid produced by exercise and acidic metabolites produced by acidic foods such as fish, meat and eggs), and enhance physical strength and disease resistance.
Lose weight: apples will increase satiety, and eating before meals can reduce food intake and achieve the purpose of losing weight.
As for whether to peel the apple, that's a matter of opinion. If you don't peel them, you may eat them.
Pesticide, peeling, the most nutritious part of apple is the skin, and most of the fiber is also in the skin.