Well, you may not have known, but carrots, bananas, corn, and even veggies like broccoli are all man-made. But are apples man made too? Yes, apples are man-made. They are among the hybrid "natural" fruits that were created through various breeding techniques.
They were created through a process called selective breeding or hybridization. However, the fact that they are man-made doesn't make them not safe for human consumption.
Actually, the history of apples is quite an interesting one you'd love to know about. Also, there are about six (6) varieties of this plant.
Where Did Apples Originally Come From?
Apple is sweet, edible fruit found on apple trees (Malus Domestica). They are planted in every part of the world; however, because the plant requires a cooler climate to perform very well, you'll mostly find apple plantations in Europe, North America, and Australia.
It is poised that the apple tree is endemic to Central Asia, which is where its wild ancestor, Malus sieversii, was discovered.
Malus sieversii is still found in Asia up to this day. For religious people, apples are a special fruit with distinguished significance to different religions.
The plant apple belongs to the Rosaceae family of the genus plant, Malus. Apple trees can grow from seeds and they grow very big when cultivated in this manner.
However, the apple cultivars used for domesticating the plant are usually propagated through grafting to control the resulting tree size.
There are over 7,500 known apple cultivars, each having various unique characteristics, and thus they are bred selectively to create varieties of the fruit, apple.
Apparently, there are varieties of apples used particularly for cooking, while there are those that are safe to eat raw.
The many species and varieties of apples we have today are all products of human intervention through selective breeding.
One interesting thing about apples is the fact that even two seeds from the same apple fruit if planted, will grow up into two different types of apple trees.
Are Apples Man Made?
The simple answer is yes, apples are man-made. For over 5000 years ago, the early farmers selectively bred the wild ancestors of this fruit, apple. Malus sieversii is generally recognized as a major parent species to the cultivated apple.
It is believed that apples have been domesticated 4000–10000 years ago in Central Asia, particularly in the Tian Shan mountains.
The Chinese soft apples, Malus Asiatica and Malus prunifolia, were cultivated as dessert apples for over 2000 years in China, and they are believed to be hybrids gotten from Malus baccata and Malus sieversii in Kazakhstan.
Famers selectively bred apple cultivars based on different traits, which included fruit acidity, size, firmness, color, and soluble sugar.
Regardless, while most of what we plant and consume today are domesticated apple varieties, there are still some species that exist in the wild, for example, crabapples.
Howbeit, those species are smaller, have a sour taste, harder, and not edible unless added to food, jam, preserves, cider, or wine.
Put simply, today’s apples are man-made and they are a result of decades (even centuries) of breeding, crossbreeding, and selective cultivation.
You will find over 7500 varieties of apples, which are typically cultivated by grafting different growing apple trees that have the desired traits.
Apples are not genetically modified in labs; the human intervention here applies to the various cultivation techniques practiced by early-days farmers.
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Conclusion | Are Apples Natural?
So, are apples man made? As I said earlier, apples are man-made. If not for human intervention, we won't have had sweet-tasty apples as we do now.
The species that exist in the wild are not edible and they are utterly sour. All varieties of domesticated apples are safe to eat and you can also add them to your diet.
