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Family University Path

Apple trees

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Apple juice, apple pie, applesauce - apples are processed into a variety of forms. All apple varieties that are or were on the market are propagated by grafting: for this purpose, a part from the branch of the desired apple variety (scion) is connected to a small tree of any other variety with two cuts. The crown with the desired apple variety then develops from this. The tree can bear fruit after only three to four years. This method of propagation ensures that exactly the same variety of apple is produced. For example, if you were to plant a core of the northern German apple variety Holsteiner Cox, the apples that eventually grow on the apple tree would be a distinct variety, but definitely not Holsteiner Cox. So every apple that grows from a core is its own variety. You can imagine this by looking at people: Children have similarities with their parents, but they are still individuals. There are summer apples, which are already ripe in August, autumn apples (for example, Danziger Kantapfel) and winter apples (for example, Winterglockenapfel and Boskoop), whose ripeness for consumption can even reach far into the next year.

On campus, you can get a close-up look at apple trees. You can find them along the S-Building, including the variety "Goldparmäne", and one in front of the outdoor area of the Department of Social Work and Health, the "Danziger Kantapfel".
Have fun exploring!

Apple tree on campus


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