• Apple is a climacteric fruit.
• It is a long-day plant.
• Apple has gametophytic self-incompatibility.
• Aroma due to ripe fruit – ethyl-2-methyl/butyrate                                             Green – hexanal.
• Malic acid present in apple.
• Jammu and Kashmir has the largest area and production.
• China is the largest producer in the world. (India ranks 11th)
• Apple has the habit of alternate bearing.
• Apple is entomophilous (insect pollination).
• Apple bears fruit on the growth of the old season.
• Colour of flower – white to pink.
• Apple production accounts for 55% of the country’s total area and 75% of its total temperate fruit production.
• Himachal Pradesh is called the “Apple Bowl of India”.
• Almost all varieties require chilling for 1000 hours at temperatures below 7.20°C.
• 11 to 33% pollinating trees are recommended for regular crops in India.
• Early fruit drop – due to lack of pollination and competition.
• Fruit drops in June – due to lack of moisture and environmental conditions.
• Fruit drops before harvesting – due to the development of the abscission layer and the formation of ethylene.
• The San Jose scale was introduced to India from France in 1906.
• Cider – Fermented alcohol prepared from apples.
• Pruning is essential to maintain a balance between vegetative growth and spur growth in apples.

Rootstock

Seedling 

• Crab apple – Malus baccata (Most commonly used rootstock in India)

Clonal

• M – 9 – Dwarf, suitable for HDP
• M – 4, M – 7 and MM – 106 – semi dwaft, suitable HDP Resistant to woolly Apple Aphid.
• MM – 111 – Semi vigorous, Resistant to woolly Apple Aphid and drought.
• Merton – 793 – vigorous, woolly Apple Aphid resistant.
• M – 27 – Ultra dwarf (M-13 x M-9)
• M – 104 – Most winter hardy rootstock

EMCA series of rootstock resistant to virus.

Commercial method of propagation of rootstock – stooling.

Varieties

Early

• Tydemans Early
• Trish Peach
• Benoni
• Fenny
• Early Shanburry

Mid

• Red delicious
• Richard
• Top Red
• Lord Lambourne
• Red Chief
• Red Gold
• American Mother & Jonathan
• Rome Beauty
• Razakwar
• Mc Intosh
• Cortland
• Golden Delicious

Late

• Yellow Newton – Internal Browning
• Winter Banana
• Granny Smith
• Lal Ambri
• Rymer
• Buckingham

Green English varieties

• Baldwin
• COXs Orange Pippin
• Black Bendavis
• Pippins

Spur type

• Stark Crimson
• White Spur
• Red Chief

Standard colour mutant

• Top Red
• Sky line supreme
• Hardiman

Scab resistant varieties

• Prima
• Priscilla
• Sir prizo
• Red free
• Nova mac
• Liberty
• Freedom
• Firdous
• Shireen
• Florina

Low-Chilling

• Michel
• Schlomit
• Anna
• Tamma
• Vared
• Neomi
• Tropical Beauty
• Parlin’s Beauty

Crab apple varieties – Red Flush, Crimson gold, Yellow drops, Nodriff

Hybrid

1. Lal Ambri – Red delicious x Ambri
2. Amb Red – Red delicious x Ambri
3. Amb starking – starking delicious x Ambri
4. Ambroyal – Royal delicious x Ambri
5. Ambrich – Rich – a Red x Ambri
6. Sunheri – Ambri x Golden delicious
7. Chaubattia Anupam – Red delicious x Early Shanburry.
8. Chaubattia Anupam – Red delicious x Early Shanburry.

• Liberty variety of apple is resistance to all fungal diseases.
• Delicious group of variety are self incompatible and cross pollinated.
• English varieties are self pollinated and act as suitable pollinizer for delicious group.
• Red Gold – act as pollinizer for red delicious and starking delicious.

Triploid

• Baldwin
• Gravenstin
• Winesap

Climate

• Apple requires temperate climate.
• Apple varieties require more chilling for normal growth.
• Annual rainfall 100-125 mm.
• The optimum temperature for fruiting should be between 21.1°C and 26.7°C.
• Apple does not grow in tropical areas as it is cryophilous.
• Strong winds are harmful.

Soil

• Well-drained and fertile deep soil.
• pH 5.8 to 6.2, free from hard pan.

Propagation

• Apple is propagated mainly by budding and grafting.
• Budding (preferably shield budding) is done in the month of June.
• Apple plants are prepared by tongue grafting.

Pollination and fruit setting

• Diploid varieties are self-fruitful; they have abundant, good pollen.
• Triploid varieties are self-unfruitful and have high female sterility. Additionally, the floral structure of these varieties does not facilitate pollination by bees, and the duration of stigma receptivity is shorter compared to the varieties in the self-fruitful group.
• Crab apple is very effective for the pollination of apple varieties.

Planting

• Pits of size 1x1x1 m are dug.
• Planting is done in early spring to avoid damage due to low temperatures.
• A distance of 5 to 8 m in both directions is sufficient.

Manure and Fertilizers

• NPK 700:350:700 g/tree, respectively
• FYM 100 kg/tree
• FYM is applied during December-January along with the full quantity of Phosphorus and Potassium. Nitrogen is applied in two splits, first in December-January. The remaining half dose of Nitrogen is applied after harvesting.
• When symptoms appear, micronutrients (Zinc – 0.5, Boron 0.1 and Manganese 0.4%) can be applied in two sprays at 15-day intervals during May to July.

Interculture and Inter-cropping

• Shallow hoeing will help keep the weeds down.
• Sod culture is useful for apple production.
• Crops like legume vegetables, melons, strawberries can be taken as inter-crops.

Irrigation

• The first irrigation is done immediately after planting.
• Drip irrigation has proved to be very effective with regard to the growth and fruit production of apple plants.

Training and Pruning

• A modified leader system is used to provide a strong structure to the plant.
• Pruning is done in summer or when the tree is dormant.
• Pruning an apple tree improves its shape, growth, fruit production and repairs damaged branches.
• Older fruit trees are pruned only for only dead, broken, crossing or competing limbs.

Fruit thinning

• Typically, an apple tree produces too much fruit.
• Leaving one or two fruits in each cluster, the rest are removed so that they can develop to full size, colour and flavour.
• NAAM (Naphthaleneacetamide) is used along with carbaryl for thinning apples.
• When carbaryl is used with NAAM, the thinning effect is increased, but the risk of russeting of the fruit may also increase.

Harvesting

• Apple fruits are harvested at the mature stage. For distant markets, fruits are harvested before they are fully ripe.
• A change in colour of the fruits from green to yellowish-green indicates that the fruits are ready for harvesting.
• However, green variety fruits are identified by taste.

Yield

30 to 50 kg of fruits/tree.

Pests

Woolly Aphids (Eriosoma lanigerum)

• A serious pest of apple, aphids are active from March to December.
• They damage the roots as well as the upper parts.
• Affected trees lose their vitality.

Control

• Spray 0.03% dimethoate or phosphamidone.
• Use aphid-resistant rootstock.
• Biological control by spraying Aphelinus mali.

San Josh Scale (Aspidiotus Perniciosus)

• It is usually spread through nursery stock, cuttings or grafts. Crows, mynahs and bulbul birds also spread it.

Control

• Fumigate nursery stock before planting.
• Spray 3% miscible oil on dormant trees in winter.
• Spray methyl demeton 0.5%.

Diseases

Stem black disease (Coniothecium chomatosporum)

The affected parts turn dark black. The fungus enters through wounds caused by pruning.

Control

• Remove and destroy the affected plant parts.
• Apply Bordeaux paste on the cut ends immediately after pruning.
• Spray 0.2% Dithane M-45.

Pink rot (Pellicularia salmonicolour)

• Light brown lesions appear on stems and twigs. The affected bark sometimes breaks up into small protrusions of white or yellow fungal structures.

Control

• Remove all affected branches and spurs in summer.

Powdery mildew (Podosphaera leucotricha)

• Most parts of the plant are covered with a grayish-white powdery mass.

Control

• Spray with Bordeaux mixture.

Apple scab (Venturia inaequalis)

• Affected leaves dry up or drop prematurely, resulting in reduced vigour and may reduce yield.

Control

• Collect all affected plant parts.
• Spray with Bordeaux mixture (4-4-50) regularly.
• Spray Dithane M-45 @ 0.5% at least 3 times.

Physiological Disorders

Bitter Pit

• Development of brown spots or streaks in the pulp, especially under the peel.
• Large fruits and immature fruits are more susceptible than other fruits.

Causes

• Excessive doses of nitrogenous fertilizers, excessive shade and excessive pruning/ calcium deficiency.

Control

• Storage at 32–34°F (0–1.1°C) temperature and high humidity (85-95%).