Apples as we know them today originate from sometimes only cherry-sized fruits which developed differently according to the local conditions and climates they were exposed to. Today’s cultured apple comes from central Asia in southern Kazakhstan close to the Chinese border, where forests of many different types of wild apple trees grow.
Because apple-trees cannot self-fertilize (like some other fruits) but
rely on pollination, there is a huge genetic variety of different apple strains
with fruits of different size, shape and tastes. From central Asia, wild apple
trees spread to other regions and their spreading was aided by bears, which ate
apples and spread apple seeds with their dung. From the huge variety of apple
sorts that grew in the original region bordering to China, the biggest and
sweetest apples were selected and spread: the apples that bears found most
tasty! Later humans further selected apples to their own taste after discovering
agricultural techniques to propagate the apples they liked best.
Unfortunately, the tastiest apples were not always the ones that were
most resistant against plant diseases, such as certain fungi. Furthermore,
apples with the most appetizing look, that is apples with white flesh that
doesn’t become brown so quickly when exposed to the air, are often more likely
to cause allergic reactions. For this reason, an interest in old apple sorts grew
again. The highly diverse apple strains at the original Asian source of today’s
domestic apple were re-discovered as a potential source for developing apples that
require fewer pesticides because they are already resistant to certain fungi while
still being sweet and tasty, not sour or bitter. Coming from central Asia,
apples are now common in the east and west: 这个东西东方有西方也有！
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Very interesting information
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