The Eden of apples
December 8, 2018 1:43 AM Subscribe
A few years ago I read a wonderful deep dive article about the wild apple forests of Kazakhstan, but can't find it now that I need it. The article included a bit on apple genetics, why apples couldn't just be grown commercially from seed, and varieties under development.
It wasn't National Geographic, Atlas Obscura, Orion magazine, the article by Michael Pollan in the New York Times, or the Munchies section of Vice.
It wasn't National Geographic, Atlas Obscura, Orion magazine, the article by Michael Pollan in the New York Times, or the Munchies section of Vice.
An article matching almost exactly that description was FPP'd a couple of weeks ago, and deleted almost immediately: A Forest of Apples.
posted by scruss at 3:44 AM on December 8, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by scruss at 3:44 AM on December 8, 2018 [1 favorite]
Previously, from the man of twists and turns: selection and preservation that bind humans and apples together. Maybe a link from the post or the comments?
posted by MonkeyToes at 7:36 AM on December 8, 2018
posted by MonkeyToes at 7:36 AM on December 8, 2018
That sounds like New Yorker reporting to me. Maybe this?
posted by fingersandtoes at 8:23 AM on December 8, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by fingersandtoes at 8:23 AM on December 8, 2018 [1 favorite]
If you want actual science on this, but aimed at the novice, then here is the comment I made on the deleted FPP a few weeks ago:
Yeah, for a better layman's overview, just watch the Apple section of Michael Pollan's "Botany of Desire" film companion to his book of the same name. It does similar work covering the central Asian origin and subsequent breeding of apples, but with, you know, actual scientists. Also, the other three sections of the film-- tulips, potatoes, and marijuana-- are pretty interesting in their own right. And currently (November 2018) streaming for free if you have Amazon Prime.
posted by seasparrow at 9:09 AM on December 8, 2018
Yeah, for a better layman's overview, just watch the Apple section of Michael Pollan's "Botany of Desire" film companion to his book of the same name. It does similar work covering the central Asian origin and subsequent breeding of apples, but with, you know, actual scientists. Also, the other three sections of the film-- tulips, potatoes, and marijuana-- are pretty interesting in their own right. And currently (November 2018) streaming for free if you have Amazon Prime.
posted by seasparrow at 9:09 AM on December 8, 2018
I read something similar and it might have been about The Silk Road. The Smithsonian , How The Silk Road Created the Modern Apple.
posted by Oyéah at 9:27 AM on December 8, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Oyéah at 9:27 AM on December 8, 2018 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: All very good articles, and very helpful! I also thought it had to be the New Yorker, but that wasn't it. Unfortunately, the one I had in mind still remains at large. I seem to remember a bit in there about the genetic diversity of the forest being so great that it was even possible to find apples that had naturally hybridized with pears. Keep 'em coming, please!
posted by Soliloquy at 1:13 PM on December 8, 2018
posted by Soliloquy at 1:13 PM on December 8, 2018
Sweet Pilgrimage: Two British Apple Growers in the Tian Shan?
From Harold McGee in the NYT?
Remarkable Kazak Apples: Their resistance to disease may boost an entire industry from the USDA?
ThoughtCo.: Domestication History of the Apple; includes the following sources...
Sources
Alonso, Natàlia, Ferran Antolín, and Helena Kirchner. "Novelties and Legacies in Crops of the Islamic Period in the Northeast Iberian Peninsula: The Archaeobotanical Evidence in Madîna Balagî, Madîna Lârida, and Madîna Turtûša." Quaternary International 346 (2014): 149-61. Print.
Cornille, Amandine, et al. "The Domestication and Evolutionary Ecology of Apples." Trends in Genetics 30.2 (2014): 57–65. Print.
Cornille, Amandine, et al. "New Insight into the History of Domesticated Apple: Secondary Contribution of the European Wild Apple to the Genome of Cultivated Varieties." PLOS Genetics 8.5 (2012): e1002703. Print.
Duan, Naibin, et al. "Genome Re-Sequencing Reveals the History of Apple and Supports a Two-Stage Model for Fruit Enlargement." Nature Communications 8.1 (2017): 249. Print.
Gaut, Brandon S., Concepción M. Díez, and Peter L. Morrell. "Genomics and the Contrasting Dynamics of Annual and Perennial Domestication." Trends in Genetics 31.12 (2015): 709–719. Print.
Gharghani, A., et al. "The Role of Iran (Persia) in Apple (Malus × Domestica Borkh.) Domestication, Evolution and Migration Via the Silk Trade Route." ISHS Acta Horticulturae. International Society for Horticultural Science (ISHS), 2010. Print.
Gross, Briana L., et al. "Genetic Diversity in Malus ×Domestica (Rosaceae) through Time in Response to Domestication." American Journal of Botany 101.10 (2014): 1770–1779. Print.
Li, L. F., and K. M. Olsen. "Chapter Three: To Have and to Hold: Selection for Seed and Fruit Retention During Crop Domestication." Current Topics in Developmental Biology. Ed. Orgogozo, Virginie. Vol. 119: Academic Press, 2016. 63–109. Print.
Ma, Baiquan, et al. "Comparative Assessment of Sugar and Malic Acid Composition in Cultivated and Wild Apples." Food Chemistry 172 (2015): 86–91. Print.
Ma, Baiquan, et al. "Reduced Representation Genome Sequencing Reveals Patterns of Genetic Diversity and Selection in Apple." Journal of Integrative Plant Biology 59.3 (2017): 190–204. Print.
Ma, X., et al. "Identification, Genealogical Structure and Population Genetics of S-Alleles in Malus Sieversii, the Wild Ancestor of Domesticated Apple." Heredity 119 (2017): 185. Print.
Rottoli, Mauro, and Andrea Pessina. "Neolithic Agriculure in Italy: An Update of Archaeobotanical Data with Particular Emphassis on Northern Settlements." The Origin and Spread of Domestic Plants in Southwest Asia and Europe. Eds. Colledge, Susan and James Conolly. Walnut Creek, California: Left Coast Press, Inc. 2007. 141–154. Print.
posted by MonkeyToes at 2:29 PM on December 8, 2018 [2 favorites]
From Harold McGee in the NYT?
Remarkable Kazak Apples: Their resistance to disease may boost an entire industry from the USDA?
ThoughtCo.: Domestication History of the Apple; includes the following sources...
Sources
Alonso, Natàlia, Ferran Antolín, and Helena Kirchner. "Novelties and Legacies in Crops of the Islamic Period in the Northeast Iberian Peninsula: The Archaeobotanical Evidence in Madîna Balagî, Madîna Lârida, and Madîna Turtûša." Quaternary International 346 (2014): 149-61. Print.
Cornille, Amandine, et al. "The Domestication and Evolutionary Ecology of Apples." Trends in Genetics 30.2 (2014): 57–65. Print.
Cornille, Amandine, et al. "New Insight into the History of Domesticated Apple: Secondary Contribution of the European Wild Apple to the Genome of Cultivated Varieties." PLOS Genetics 8.5 (2012): e1002703. Print.
Duan, Naibin, et al. "Genome Re-Sequencing Reveals the History of Apple and Supports a Two-Stage Model for Fruit Enlargement." Nature Communications 8.1 (2017): 249. Print.
Gaut, Brandon S., Concepción M. Díez, and Peter L. Morrell. "Genomics and the Contrasting Dynamics of Annual and Perennial Domestication." Trends in Genetics 31.12 (2015): 709–719. Print.
Gharghani, A., et al. "The Role of Iran (Persia) in Apple (Malus × Domestica Borkh.) Domestication, Evolution and Migration Via the Silk Trade Route." ISHS Acta Horticulturae. International Society for Horticultural Science (ISHS), 2010. Print.
Gross, Briana L., et al. "Genetic Diversity in Malus ×Domestica (Rosaceae) through Time in Response to Domestication." American Journal of Botany 101.10 (2014): 1770–1779. Print.
Li, L. F., and K. M. Olsen. "Chapter Three: To Have and to Hold: Selection for Seed and Fruit Retention During Crop Domestication." Current Topics in Developmental Biology. Ed. Orgogozo, Virginie. Vol. 119: Academic Press, 2016. 63–109. Print.
Ma, Baiquan, et al. "Comparative Assessment of Sugar and Malic Acid Composition in Cultivated and Wild Apples." Food Chemistry 172 (2015): 86–91. Print.
Ma, Baiquan, et al. "Reduced Representation Genome Sequencing Reveals Patterns of Genetic Diversity and Selection in Apple." Journal of Integrative Plant Biology 59.3 (2017): 190–204. Print.
Ma, X., et al. "Identification, Genealogical Structure and Population Genetics of S-Alleles in Malus Sieversii, the Wild Ancestor of Domesticated Apple." Heredity 119 (2017): 185. Print.
Rottoli, Mauro, and Andrea Pessina. "Neolithic Agriculure in Italy: An Update of Archaeobotanical Data with Particular Emphassis on Northern Settlements." The Origin and Spread of Domestic Plants in Southwest Asia and Europe. Eds. Colledge, Susan and James Conolly. Walnut Creek, California: Left Coast Press, Inc. 2007. 141–154. Print.
posted by MonkeyToes at 2:29 PM on December 8, 2018 [2 favorites]
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posted by conifer at 1:59 AM on December 8, 2018