Questions about the fruit apple

Apple Facts for Kids

Check out our fun apple facts for kids. Learn interesting information about apple trees and popular apple varieties that you might find in your lunch box.

What kind of naturally occurring poison do apple seeds contain? How many calories does the average apple have? Find the answers to these questions and more with our fun apple facts for kids!

Apples are the fruit of apple trees and are one of the most widely grown tree fruit.

Millions of tonnes of apples are grown every year.

There are thousands of different varieties of apples including Fuji, Gala, Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Pink Lady and Granny Smith.

Granny Smith apples originated in Australia in 1868 accidentally after a chance seedling by a woman named Maria Ann Smith.

While most apples are eaten fresh, they have other uses including juice making and cooking.

The apple tree originated in Central Asia.

China is the leading producer of apples.

Apples were taken to North America by European settlers.

Apple trees can be vulnerable to a number of different diseases and pests. Chemical sprays are often used to limit the damage but organic methods are also popular.

Honey bees are commonly used to pollinate apple trees.

Apple trees typically blossom in spring with fruit maturing in autumn.

Apple seeds contain a cyanide compound. Our body can handle small doses of this naturally occurring poison so you’d have to eat a huge number of seeds for it to have an effect, and even then the seeds are covered in a protective coating which keeps the cyanide compound safe inside.

An average apple contains around 130 calories.

It is believed that the saying «An apple a day keeps the doctor away» originated in Wales in the 19th century. Sadly eating apples doesn’t guarantee good health but they do have nutritional value and potential health benefits.

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Grammar Help Please..

Hi!
I have a few questions.
Are these sentences correct? If they aren’t, why?

1. ‘My favourite fruit is an apple.’
‘My favourite fruit is apple.’
‘My favourite fruit are apples.’
‘My favourite fruit is apples.’

2. ‘The cheapest food is cakes.’

3. ‘She wanted to go to the library because she wanted to borrow books.’
‘She wanted to go to the library because she wants to borrow books.’

Do help me out. Thanks!

Guest

I choose » My favourite fruit is apples «

» The cheapest food is cake. «

She wanted to go to the library because she ( wanted ) to borrow books. ( the main clause and the subodinate clause should be in parallel in terms of the tenses )

whl626

Hello!
Is it possible to use a noun withou article in English?

«The cheapest food is cake» or «The cheapest food is a cake»? Which one is better to write or maybe both. I am not sure, English not my first language.

Thanks. Good luck!

EnglishFanatic

As far as I know, noun without an article in front is normally used to mean something in general.

The use of ‘ a ‘ means referring to a single thing.

The use of ‘ the ‘ for the purpose of specifying the particular thing.

eg. Life is short, we’d better live to the fullest . We don’t say a life or the life since it means the general life.

whl626

EnglishFanatic

daniel salas

I think ‘ is ‘ is correct. The singular subject goes with the singular verb.

The use of plural noun after the verb is very much dependent on its necessity at times.

eg. To organize such a benefit concert, I would rather use local talent. ( of course we might choose more than 1 person to the concert but still we say ‘ talent ‘ instead of ‘ talents ‘ ) because the point is not on the number of people.

Since there is no clear-cut explanation in this respect, I see it from this perspective and whether they are right or wrong to say so is well beyond me, hah

whl626

1. a. ‘My favourite fruit is an apple.’
b. ‘My favourite fruit is apple.’
c. ‘My favourite fruit are apples.’
d. ‘My favourite fruit is apples.’

— You don’t like an apple in particular. ‘My favourite fruit is an apple from Brazil, but I don’t know (or don’t remember) exactly what apple it is’. Then option a. is out.
— ‘My favourite fruit’ requires a singular verb. Thus, it couldn’t be letter c.
— As long as ‘My favourite fruit is’, again, needs a singular object, the only correct answer is letter b.

2. The cheapest food is cake. (See the explanation above.)

3. Both. But if she has already bought it, the second one wouldn’t make sence.

buggah

The following are both correct:
1. (in the singular) — My favourite fruit is THE apple
2. (in the plural) — My favourite fruit IS apples»

Alternatively, turn it around:
1. (in the singular) — THE apple is my favourite fruit.
2. (in the plural) — Apples ARE my favourite fruit.

EXPLANATION: «fruit» is a mass noun (in this context), so it always takes the singular. The verb «to be» takes its form from the left hand item. Compare the following two (correct) sentences:
3. My favourite music IS The Beatles
4. The Beatles ARE my favourite music

The word «the» makes apple generic, for some curious reason.

«My favourite fruit ARE . » is always wrong, for reasons stated above.
«My favourite fruit is AN apple» is wrong because it’s not generic.

The suggested variant «My favourite fruit is apple» is meaningless in practice. Please observe that, in this example, the word apple is being used as a mass noun, not as a count noun. (As in the phrase «I like apple»). In this context, «apple» has a different meaning — perhaps something like «the flavour of apple» or «the concept of apple». This may NOT complete the sentence «My favourite fruit is. «. That would be nonsense. But «My favourite FLAVOUR is apple» makes perfect sense because the right-hand-side is the same kind of thing as the left-hand-side.

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Varieties of Apple Trees

The Spruce / Kara Riley

Who says that only ornamentals can be used in landscape design? Apple trees (Malus spp.) are as lovely in bloom as any strictly ornamental flowering tree, and the blooms are also fragrant. But unlike ornamentals, they will give you a delicious harvest of fruit.

Nor are the landscaping uses for apple trees limited to their blooming periods. A row of apple trees can act as an attractive privacy screen all summer and fall, while fully leafed out. Perhaps you already have a privacy fence, but it looks too bare, and you’d like to dress it up. Dwarf varieties of the apple can serve as the “clothing,” trained along your fence in an art form known as espalier. Dwarf varieties (5 to 8 feet tall) and semi-dwarf varieties (12 to 16 feet tall) are better plants for espalier than are standard apples (20 to 30 feet tall).

Don’t depend on dwarf varieties to be as hardy as semi-dwarf varieties and standards. For a homeowner living in planting zone 3, for instance, it’s probably safest to restrict your selection to standards. Those of you, however, who live in a climate suitable for dwarf varieties should take advantage: You won’t have to wait as long for a mature yield of fruit (a couple of years) after planting as with standards (five or six years).

Note that in addition to apple tree variety, the other factors discussed throughout this article have an impact on how long it will take for the branches of your new apples to start straining under the burden of a bumper crop.

Selection by Climate and Taste

Beyond the consideration of dwarf vs. standard varieties, the first thing you should do to decide on the varieties of apple trees you’ll be growing is to ensure that you select the varieties that grow best in your region. Your local county extension office can provide you with this information. The following are examples of varieties that can be grown in zones 3 to 8, which covers most of the continental U.S., except for the southernmost states (apples are plants of the North by nature since they have chilling requirements):

Golden delicious
Cortland
Haralred
Honeycrisp

After you know what varieties of apple trees you can grow, the question becomes which of those you’d prefer to grow. For this part of the apple tree selection process, you get to rely at least in part on your good old taste buds. Sample fruit from varieties of apple trees you think you might want before you commit to planting.

Consider both taste—that is, sweetness or tartness—and texture (some of us care more about the crispness of the fruit than the taste). It also matters how you’ll be eating them. If you’re thinking in terms of pie, that may mean selecting varieties different from what you’d choose for fresh snacking:

For a sweet fruit, grow Honeycrisp.
For a tart fruit, grow Granny Smith.
For a crisp fruit, grow Macoun.
For pie-making, grow Northern Spy, Liberty, and Golden Delicious.

Varieties Resistant to Disease

Not all of us will want to let our taste buds alone make the decision for us. Growing plants that are low-maintenance may be a priority. Disease-resistant varieties of apple trees may carry the day over varieties that require spraying. Four diseases commonly attack apple trees: fire blight, apple scab, cedar apple rust, and powdery mildew. The following are varieties of apple trees that offer at least some resistance to these diseases, reducing the need to spray:

Enterprise
Liberty
Freedom
Redfree

Staggering

Part of the pleasure of growing apple trees on your property comes from biting into the freshly-plucked fruit. So getting a bumper crop from your orchard in fall, eating a few of the fresh fruits, and storing the rest away somewhat defeats the purpose of growing the delicious fruit. There’s a better approach: staggering your crop.

By «staggering» your crop, what is meant is growing apple trees that are early-season bloomers, mid-season bloomers, and late-season bloomers. By taking this approach with your crop, it’s less likely you’ll be forced into storing away most of your produce. Instead of having an excess of fresh fruit all at once, your harvesting will be spread out over three periods, with a more manageable amount to consume fresh at each harvest.

Growing apple trees using the staggered approach also aids your landscape design efforts: Just as the blossoms of one group fade, another will take up the torch, adding color to your yard. Let’s look at examples of varieties based on blooming season:

The following types bloom early:

Beacon
Ginger Gold
Paulared
State Fair

The following types bloom mid-season:

Cortland
Gala
Honeycrisp
Liberty
McIntosh

The following types bloom late:

Golden Delicious
Haralred
Northern Spy
Rome

The Pollination Issue

Even if you do decide to use the staggered approach, you still must plant two or more varieties that bloom at the same time in each apple planting. Why? Well, don’t forget «the birds and the bees.» Yes, we’re talking about sex: pollination.

Most apples aren’t keen on incest, requiring trees of a different apple variety for pollination (even with the exceptions, pollination is still superior when it comes from another variety). Apples don’t look down their noses at crabapples, as if the latter somehow weren’t «real» apples. No, apples are sometimes quite willing to be pollinated by their ornamental cousins. This fact gives you more leeway in terms of plant choices.

A couple of warnings, though, before leaving the issue of pollination:

The pollen of some apple varieties is sterile, so don’t rely on these as your pollinators. Examples are Jonagold, Mutsu, Stayman, and Winesap.
The transfer of pollen from one apple blossom to another is largely the work of bees. So be careful not to apply insecticides during the blooming period, or else you’ll kill the bees and lose your best means of pollination.

Planting

The best spot for planting apple trees is an area with rich, well-drained soil and plenty of sun. Planting them where they’ll get early morning sun helps reduce the chances of getting powdery mildew disease, as does locate them in a spot with good air circulation.

Early spring is a good time for planting apple trees in the North. In the South, fall is perhaps the best time for planting: The roots will already have been established when next spring rolls around, giving your apple trees a head start.

In preparation, remove weeds and grass to form a bare circle for each transplant, about 4 feet in diameter. Your first challenge in apple tree care after bringing your plants home from the nursery will be keeping their roots moist, both before and after putting them in the ground. Soaking their roots in water for 30 minutes before planting is a good first step. If the roots look dried out, extend that soaking period to about 24 hours to revive them.

When you make the trip to your local nursery to buy the plants, look for bare-root stock, one-year-old. Although it may seem that you’d be getting a good deal (because the plants are bigger), avoid planting apple trees that are more than three years old. Younger trees are easier to get established.

Installing Your Plant

Begin digging a hole about twice the diameter of the root system, and about a foot deeper. When you think you have the depth of the hole about right, spread out the roots in the hole and check the level of the bud union (the bud union is where the scion meets the rootstock as a result of grafting). The goal will be to have the bud union raised about two inches above ground level.

You don’t want the bud union at too low a level, for two reasons. First of all, that would invite crown rot. Secondly, if you are growing a dwarf or semi-dwarf variety, you don’t want the scion to root and become dominant. You want the rootstock to remain the dominant partner since it controls tree size.

Apply water as you fill the hole back in with soil, to remove air pockets. Add soil amendments at the same time. This is also the time to install a vole guard around the trunk of your apple trees, letting it stick up about 10 inches above ground level. Water well again after the transplant is complete. To help retain some of that moisture (and also keep the weeds and grass from growing back), mulch around the plant to a depth of two to three inches.

Pruning

In pruning your plants to try to give them an ideal shape and structure, you’re essentially focusing on the leader and on establishing good scaffold branches (the primary limbs growing out of the sides of the trunk). A prime goal in pruning them is to ensure good aeration. That is, if air circulates freely through all of the branches, there’s less chance of a problem with powdery mildew disease. Pruning also restricts their vertical growth, making it easy for you to get at them to care for them.

The branches should be trained to form angles that will help them radiate out away from the trunk while keeping enough strength to bear heavy fruit loads. This process is called «spreading.» And speaking of loads, believe it or not, there can be such a thing as «too many apples.» While you’re waiting for your young tree to produce any fruit at all, this might not seem like a problem. But a problem it is, and it’s dealt with through a process known as «thinning.»

Thinning promotes larger fruit size, improves next year’s blooming, and reduces the likelihood of limbs snapping off. Thinning works on two levels: the blossom level and the branch level. Apple blossoms form a cluster, made up of five or six potential fruits. You’ll want to thin these down to one fruit, once the baby apples have reached about the size of a marble. At the branch level, remove enough fruit so that the remaining apples are spaced about four to six feet apart.

Even if you have disease-resistant varieties, you still have to worry about insect pests. To combat scales, mites, and aphids, spray horticultural oil on apple trees just after full bloom is over. After that, spray every 10 to 14 days throughout the summer. For apple maggots, codling moths, green fruitworms, and plum curculios check with your local county extension office for the best pesticide to apply in your area. Some apple tree growers are experimenting with neem oil as an organic alternative for curculio control.

Voles are the next greatest enemy for apple trees after disease and insects.

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