Introduction to Apple (Malus × domestica)

Abstract

Apple is the most important temperate fruit crop and has been cultivated in Asia and Europe from antiquity (Janick et al., 1996). The genus Malus has, according to most authorities, 25–30 species and several subspecies of so-called crabapples. The cultivated apple is supposed to be the result of interspecific hybridization. The denomination Malus x domestica has been generally accepted as the appropriate scientific name (Korban and Skirvin, 1984). The main progenitor of the domestic apple is considered to be Malus sieversii which grows wild in the Heavenly Mountains (Tien Shan) at the boundary between western China and the former Soviet Union to the edge of the Caspian sea (Morgan and Richard, 1993; Forsline and Aldwinckle, 2004).