Alison Otte, age 9, of Littleton, Colo., for her question:
WHY ARE THERE SO MANY KINDS OF APPLES?
Washington is the No. 1 apple producing state in the United States, and it is two times ahead of second place New York in production. About 37 million bushels are harvested each year in Washington. North American states and provinces making up the top 10 producers, in order or volume, then include Michigan, Pennsylvania, California, Virginia, North Carolina, Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia.
Mother Nature was indeed prolific when it came to providing the world with varieties of apple trees. It is hard to believe, but there are almost 7,500 different kinds of apples. More than 2,500 of these varieties are grown in the United States.
Most of the various apple trees are producing fruit only in limited amounts for the owners of the home gardens.
Eighteen kinds of apple tree varieties add up to producing about 95 percent of North America's apple crop. The favorite apples include Albemarle Pippin, Baldwin, Cortland, Delicious, Duchess, Golden Delicious, Gravenstein, Grimes Golden, Jonathan, McIntosh, Northern Spy, Rhode Island Greening, Rome Beauty, Stayman, Transparent, Wealthy, Winesap and York Imperial.
This limited list was selected because these apples seem to be the ones most liked by the public and also because they ship well and do not spoil easily.
Cool climate seems to agree with apples. The trees bloom late in the spring when flowers and young fruit are not harmed by freezing weather.
More apples are grown in France than in the United States. About 45 percent of the American crop is processed while about 50 percent goes to the market fresh. Processed apple products include drying, canning, freezing and crushing for use in apple juice, cider and vinegar. Only 3 percent of the apple crop in the United States is exported.
Apples have been popular since the days of the ancient Romans. When they conquered England, they took apple trees along and started cultivating them. Both seeds and trees were brought to America in 1628.
Apple trees belong to the rose family. Among their closest relatives, too, are pears, peaches, plums and cherries.
About 30 different kinds of wild apples are known, with seven types being found in North America. The wild types, for the most part, fall into the crab apple classification. Most wild apples are small, sour and have very hard fruit.
Apple trees, when taken care of properly in orchards, will thrive and bear fruit for more than 30 years. When planted, they are usually placed between 20 and 30 feet apart.