Apple tree
The apple tree belongs to the Rosaceae family, subfamily Maloidae (Pomoidae), gender Malus. Even though several names have been cited for these species the denomination Malus domestica is the first valid denomination published for the Apple tree culture, according to the International Nomenclature Code of Cultivated Plants.
The origin center is the Caucasus region, in the Asian mountains and in the East of China. It is supposed that the development of the actual species have been initiated 20.000 years ago. It seems that the Greeks in the classical ancient times had cultivated Apple tree, in fact in the Roman Empire the apple tree culture was already widespread. In Brazil, the beginning of the Apple tree culture occurred probably in Valinhos municipality, state of São Paulo in 1926. The first researches about Apple tree in Brazil were in 1928, with the introduction of 72 cultivars in the Experimental Station of São Roque, belonged to the Campinas Agricultural Institute (IAC).Several others attempts were developed aiming the commercial cultivation of the culture along the years, but it can be said that in commercial scale it had been initiated in the end of the 60's and beginning of the 70's. Since this date, Brazil depended on importation to supply the apple market. The creation of the project of Fruticulture of Temperate Weather'Profit', by the state of Santa Catarina, through the law nº 4.263 of 1968, with the objective of developing and supporting the Apple tree cultivation in the state and the Federal law nº 5.106, known as the Law of tax exempt, that allowed to lower 50% of the income tax of the year to be applied in reforestation, that could be done with Apple tree cultivation, these gave the great initial impulse to the commercial Apple tree development in the state of Santa Catarina and in Brazil.
Actually the culture is distributed in the states of RS, SC, PR, SP, MG and BA, being Santa Catarina the biggest producer followed by Rio Grande do Sul. The evolution of the crops was fast, getting to 34 thousand of hectares and a production of about 850 thousand ton in 2008. From 1988 Brazil started to export apples reaching self -sufficiency in 1998 when the exportations exceed the importations.
Apple is among the fourth most consumed fruits in the world. In Brazil it is commercialized during the twelve months of the year and distributed all over the country. Except its consumed in natura it is utilized in purée, jam, dry fruit, concentrated juice and fermented beverages. The apple tree fruit is rich in peptic substances and cellulose that together with lignin constitute fibers. The content of protein and lipids are low showing a big variety of organic acids, predominating the malic acid. The apple tree is a perennial plant with fallen leaves that gets in an apparent paralysis stage , in the winter called dormancy. To get out of dormancy and initiate blooming in the spring, the trees need, in the winter, of a certain amount of cold hours under 7,2º C.This necessity of cold hours varies according to each cultivar, and because of the genetic improvement there are today a lot of cultivars with the necessity of cold between 200 to 1000 hours. When planted in regions where there is insufficient cold to promote a good shooting the use of chemicals products specific to make the induction of the shooting becomes necessary. The production of seedlings are realized by grafting method, being the rootstocks multiplied by layer method or through micropropagation.The rootstocks determines the size of the plant, the M-9 (dwarf), the M-7 (semi-vigorous) and the Marubakaido (vigorous) are the most planted in Brazil. With the rootstocks Marubakaido is utilized the inter-graft M-9 to reduce the vigor of the plant. The planting density depends on the rootstocks and on the conducted system utilized, varying from 1000 to 3500 plants / ha, with 3,0 to 5,0 x 0,8 to 2,5m spacing. Gala and Fuji cultivars and its clones, with the best red color of the fruits still representing 90% of the production, but the tendency is to have a better diversification with the disponibility of new cultivars, more adaptable to the weather of the south of Brazil and with resistance to the main diseases coming from the genetic improvement. The Apple tree requires crossing polinization, needing two or more cultivars to be planted, in fact in the new shooting it was used plants of the Malus gender with the specific order of polinization.
Most of the orchards have been conducted under a central leader system with the necessity of a support system when using the dwarf rootstocks. The harvest begins from December to April due to the cultivar function and climatic particularities of each region, being the biggest concentration between February and April. The productivity estimated in the planting which used the available technologies was of 40 to 60 t/ha. The fruits are commercialized in boxes of 18 kilos and classified according to the numbers of fruits per box.
The Apple tree culture is an example of how the public sector and the private initiative can act together and contribute to the economic and social development of one region. Two regions from Santa Catarina, São Joaquim and Fraiburgo and one from Rio Grande do Sul, Vacaria have their economic bases on the Apple tree culture. This important production chain creates jobs and profit being also responsible for the introduction of technologies, for example, the development of the cold chain, being the first in Brazil to use controlled atmosphere which allows the conservation of apples for long periods. The sector is an important employer and represents already one of the most important segments of the agribusiness and of the Brazilian fruticulture.
José Luiz Petri
M.Sc. Fitotecnia
Reseacher, Epagri/Estação Experimental de Caçador
e-mail: petri@epagri.sc.gov.br
Gabriel Berenhauser Leite
Dr. Fisiologia
Reseacher, Epagri/Estação Experimental de Caçador
e-mail: gabriel@epagri.sc.gov.br
Publication Dates
-
Publication in this collection
19 Feb 2009 -
Date of issue
Dec 2008
