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Where I'm from (very rural Northern California) there are quite a lot of old apple trees, some more or less tended, some entirely feral, AFAIK none of them harv

by biztos 7y ago

Where I'm from (very rural Northern California) there are quite a lot of old apple trees, some more or less tended, some entirely feral, AFAIK none of them harvested for sale anymore. The bears love them. None are listed on the AppleSearch site, which doesn't surprise me: the first non-indigenous people showed up here in the 1840's and by then apple cultivation was a big deal elsewhere. But it makes me wonder: do feral apple trees not eventually form their own varietals through mutation? (IANAB, for $B == 'Botanist', obviously.)

eesmith 7y ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple#Breeding https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple#Breeding > Many apples grow readily from seeds. However, more than with most perennial fruits, apples must be propagated asexually by grafting to obtain the sweetness and other desirable characteristics of the parent. This is because seedling apples are an example of "extreme heterozygotes", in that rather than inheriting genes from their parents to create a new apple with parental characteristics, they are instead significantly different from their parents, perhaps to compete with the many pests. ... > Because apples do not breed true when planted as seeds, grafting is generally used to produce new apple trees That means that if you plant the seeds from a Gala apple, you are almost certainly not going to get an apple tree which produces Gala apples. Not only that, but they are likely not going to be tasty. The folk story about Johnny Appleseed is that he planted apple seeds wherever he went (Wikipedia says he actually planted nurseries). If someone had done that, it would have been apples for pigs, and for hard cider.
- twic 7y ago
  > rather than inheriting genes from their parents I understand what the author is getting at, but that is not a good phrase. Apples do inherit genes from their parents, and not from anywhere else!
  - lithos 7y ago
    It more like lots of genes affect apple flavor, so the chances of getting something viable from a non-clone is slim.
- HeyLaughingBoy 7y ago
  I think what I see around here is a great example of that. I have about two dozen or so apple trees that have self-propagated. They don't grow in any particular pattern and they're randomly separated so I assume no one deliberately planted more than one or two of them. The fruit is small: averages about 1 - 2" diameter. A few of them produce really delicious, sweet apples but the majority are very sour and unpleasant. I've always been really surprised by how different the fruit on one tree is from the one right next to it.

by biztos 7y ago

eesmith 7y ago

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple#Breeding https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple#Breeding > Many apples grow readily from seeds. However, more than with most perennial fruits, apples must be propagated asexually by grafting to obtain the sweetness and other desirable characteristics of the parent. This is because seedling apples are an example of "extreme heterozygotes", in that rather than inheriting genes from their parents to create a new apple with parental characteristics, they are instead significantly different from their parents, perhaps to compete with the many pests. ... > Because apples do not breed true when planted as seeds, grafting is generally used to produce new apple trees That means that if you plant the seeds from a Gala apple, you are almost certainly not going to get an apple tree which produces Gala apples. Not only that, but they are likely not going to be tasty. The folk story about Johnny Appleseed is that he planted apple seeds wherever he went (Wikipedia says he actually planted nurseries). If someone had done that, it would have been apples for pigs, and for hard cider.

twic 7y ago
> rather than inheriting genes from their parents I understand what the author is getting at, but that is not a good phrase. Apples do inherit genes from their parents, and not from anywhere else!
- lithos 7y ago
  It more like lots of genes affect apple flavor, so the chances of getting something viable from a non-clone is slim.
HeyLaughingBoy 7y ago
I think what I see around here is a great example of that. I have about two dozen or so apple trees that have self-propagated. They don't grow in any particular pattern and they're randomly separated so I assume no one deliberately planted more than one or two of them. The fruit is small: averages about 1 - 2" diameter. A few of them produce really delicious, sweet apples but the majority are very sour and unpleasant. I've always been really surprised by how different the fruit on one tree is from the one right next to it.