Apple fruit

Apple fruit

Apple fruit is one of the most popular delicious fruit.This wonderful fruit is covered with rich photo-nutrient that is essentially for health. The antioxidants in apple have much health promoting and disease prevention properties.Sscientific name of Apple is Mal us domestica.Shape of the apple is oval and it skin has various colours depending upon cultivation

Health benefits of apple

Apple fruit major role in our body.They contain vitamins ,minerals,anti-oxidants.That functions are given below.

• Apple fruit contain photo-nutrients, and anti-oxidants. This components are essential for normal growth, development and overall well-being.
  

• Apples are low in calories; They, contain no saturated fats or cholesterol. Apple fruit is rich in dietary fibre, which helps prevent absorption of dietary-LLD or bad cholesterol in the gut. The fibre also saves the colon mucous membrane from exposure to toxic substances by binding to cancer-causing chemicals inside the colon.
  

• Apples are rich in antioxidant photo-nutrients.The total measured anti-oxidant strength (OR AC value) of 100 g apple fruit is 5900 TE. Some of the important flavonoids in apples are quercetin, epicatechin, and procyanidin B2.They contain tartaric acid that gives tart flavor to them. Altogether, these compounds help the body protect from deleterious effects of free radicals.
  
• Apple fruit contains vitamin-C and beta-carotene. Vitamin C is a powerful natural antioxidant. Consumption of foods rich in vitamin C helps the body develop resistance against infectious agents and scavenge harmful, pro-inflammatory free radicals from the body.
  
• Further, apple fruit is a good source of B-complex vitamins such as riboflavin, thiamine, and pyridoxine (vitamin B-6). Together these vitamins help as co-factors for enzymes in metabolism as well as in various synthetic functions inside the body.
  
• Apple also contains a small amount of minerals like potassium, phosphorus, and calcium. Potassium is an important component of cell and body fluids helps controlling heart rate and blood pressure; thus, counters the bad influences of sodium.
  

Selection and Storage

Fresh apples are readily available in the stores all around the season. Choose fresh, bright, firm textured apples with rich flavor. Avoid fruits with pressure marks over their surface as they indicate underlying mottled of pulp.

Fresh apples can be kept at room temperature for few days and stored inside the refrigerator for two to three weeks. Wash them in clean running cold water before use to remove any surface dust and pesticide/fungicide residues.

Cultivation of apple

Tree is Young

One important point in apple cultivation is that they grow best in groups to promote pollination. If you have different varieties, make sure they will all bear pollen at the same time. Apple trees have the best fruit production between the ages of 10 and 30. Most apple trees live to about 35 years of age..

 

When your fruit tree is between 5 and 10 years be sure to:

• Provide enough air circulation in and around the tree.
• Prune to establish the essential structure of the tree and then to encourage fruit to develop.
• Irrigate your tree with a good deep soaking every 7 to 15 days, depending on the season and weather.
• Check the location of your trees. If they are growing in a lower part of your yard, cold air can accumulate down there, and slow down fruit production.The location is extremely windy/cold/wet during pollination time, this can prevent pollination.
  

Not Bearing Fruit Yet!

Apple tree is more than 10 years old, still is not bearing fruit, you may want to consider stressing your apple trees. This can be done by cutting back on nutrients and water for a short period of time. You can also stress the tree by taking a straight-edged spade and driving it into the ground in 6-8 places outside the drip-line of the tree. This will cut many of the feeder roots. This type of stressing usually results in blooming and bearing fruit the following year.. Be sure to keep all fertilisers away from the roots.

Pruning Your Apple Trees

Before pruning project check apple trees a good one .Make sure the trunk is not full of rot or large holes. Is most of the wood still alive? If it appears that over half of the branches are dead or splitting apart, the tree may not be worth saving.Bearing apple fruit are check to suitable for cooking,eating and taste it whether it is bitter or sour or sweet.

The trees may be a poor variety if the fruit is small, green, hard and/or sour.

The apple trees are worth pruning, take the time to clean the area around the trees. Clear out any weeds, brush or other non-fruit trees in the area.

Pruning is started from he top into bottom way,this will allow to well ripening fruit. Some people routinely cut off the top third of their apple tree branches to let the sunlight in.. Keep top branches short and the ones below them increasingly long. This allows the tips of all branches to receive light.

Maintenance Pruning

In maintenance pruning is to remove water sprouts as soon as they develop. These sprouts can come up from the branches and also from suckers at the base of the trunk. Water sprouts often develop when the tree is being pruned too much. .

When pruning, make all your cuts back to a live branch or to the trunk. Make your cut just outside the branch collar, so you do not leave a stub. If the branch is long and/or thick, make several cuts before cutting just outside the branch collar. This helps avoid tearing due to the weight and stress on the branch. Remove any limbs that have woodpecker holes. Also cut off branches with weather damage and ones that show signs of disease.

Use Sharp, Clean Tools

Be sure to clean the blade after each cut, and especially before starting to prune a different tree. If your apple trees have been neglected, it’s hard to be sure where diseased wood is. Cleaning the blade will prevent the spread of disease to different branches and trees.

. Be patient, give your trees the proper environment for growing and provide regular pruning to enhance fruit production. Not only will you enjoy the fruit, but apple trees add a lot of character and beauty to your landscape.