By Ethen Askvig
The U.S. is able grow up to as many as 2,500 different varieties ofapples, with 100 of these being commercially grown and sold. An apple isable to be grown in all 50 states, with the top commercial growing statesbeing Washington, New York, Michigan, California, Pennsylvania and Virginia.
The reason that these states are so good for growing apples is becauseof their climate. Apple trees prefer temperate regions and are well adaptedto places with winter temperatures that are below freezing for 2 months.Apple trees grow the best on hilltops and sloping sides of hills. Thisprovides for better water drainage and also allows colder night air tofall into the valley below, where it doesnt harm the apple blossom.
In an orchard apple trees are planted in rows anywhere from 10-30 feetapart. Young trees require more attention than the older trees in a orchard.You have to keep a closer eye on the progression of it and watch out forinfestations to it. You want these trees to grow up healthy because youwill be relying on them down the road to produce fruit.
It takes 6-8 years for a apple tree to begin producing fruit. Once itis able to produce though, it is able to continue producing fruit for upto 100 years. A commercial orchard will usually replace a tree anywhereafter 12-20 years though to get a better fruit quality and higher yieldfrom the tree.
An orchard, just like with any other plant, requires fertilization andfighting pests to keep it as healthy as it is able to be. Fertilizationis more important in some areas more than others depending on the soiland what you have to work with in that soil. For pest control you can usethings like pesticides. With pesticides though you must be careful becauseit can have after effects to the plant or even the fruit, which may transferto humans. There are other ways instead of pest control though that arenon-toxic and more biologically safe. You can do simple things such aspruning infected wood, or you can get more technologically advanced andbreed apple trees that are pest resistant.
At the end of the growing season when apples are ripe and ready, theyare hand picked. A healthy apple tree is able to produce around 840 poundsof fruit each year. In 1997, over 4.6 million metric tons were producedin the U.S. with a value of more than $1 billion dollars.
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