Apples. All From the Same Seed?

Apples originally all came from one seed, transplanted across the Silk Road by being tossed out by travelers between China and Europe. Scientist from an article posted in Popular Science believe that any seed could give you any type of apple there is today. The discarded cores cross pollinated with soft and sour crab varieties closer to Asia, while in Europe a new species was created. In 1870 Iowa a random seedling gave a farmer dark red apple which blossomed into the now Red Delicious that was picked for breeding due to having a longer shelf life. Genetic research shows that Granny Smith apples also came from the domestic apple, just a different variation. Honeycrisps were developed at the University Minnesota for a sweeter juicier type of apple. They also developed an apple called MN1627 which was never sold publicly but it had cells twice as large as the Honeycrisp for a crunchier skin. A Cosmic Crisp apple, grown in Washington State on 11.6 million trees will be sold sometime in 2019, which is a mix of sweet and tart.

The scientists believe that every apple comes from one seed. I believe that they all started as one but with all of the genetic mutations that have created all types of apples, I find it hard to believe that if I were to drop any apple seed into the ground that I have the possibility to get any kind. Apples grow everywhere and those conditions also play a role in the type of apple that is grown.