ABSTRACT
Apples are a very significant temperate fruit which is grown in Europe and Asia. Its varieties form the largest group of the temperate fruit varieties that has a major share in the fresh market. It has been domesticated to Europe, North America, and the Middle East. It has been cultivated worldwide and consumed for a long time. Apples are considered to have religious and traditional value in several cultures. When grown from a seed, it takes around 7–8 years to come into bearing. Additionally, the progeny that is obtained is different from the parent both phenotypically and genotypically. Therefore, grafting is considered to be a more suitable way to propagate apples as it results in production of genetically similar plants that are precocious in bearing. Thousands of varieties of apples are famous for their taste and use. China leads in apple production followed by Brazil and India. Varieties of cultivated apples have a rather slender genetic base with the two cultivars ‘Golden Delicious’ and ‘Delicious’ being predominant. Commercially the world’s most important growing apple cultivars belong to the species Malus × domestica Borkh. The range of cultivars varies within each country depending upon the consumer demand and its growing conditions.
