The apple was and is the German's favorite fruit. And it is unlikely that anything will change in the future. Although only a handful of varieties can usually be found on the market, the number of existing and also cultivated in one form or another covers a much larger range. How many apple varieties are there in Germany and worldwide?
apple varieties
A precise determination of the species existing worldwide is simply impossible. The reason for this is the countless cultivated forms that are added every year. They should "improve" the apple in one form or another, i.e. change the taste, consistency or shelf life in an advantageous way. In addition, the issue of resistance to pathogens is playing an increasingly important role in today's monoculture cultivation. Some of the new cultivars are establishing themselves, while others are quickly disappearing. In addition, old traditional varieties are repeatedly forgotten and sometimes disappear completely. Finally, there is no central office that records and archives all apple varieties bred and cultivated worldwide.
How many apples are there in the world?
If you want to know how diverse the world of apples really is, you have to rely on estimates. The agency responsible in Germany, the Federal Agency for Agriculture and Food, estimates the world's existing apple varieties at around 20,000. Other places, on the other hand, correct this number upwards again and come to around 30,000.
Apple varieties in Germany
If you now take a look at Germany, however, this number is quickly put into perspective. It is assumed that around 1,600 to 2,000 apple varieties are grown in the various kitchen gardens. The decline appears even more frightening if you now focus on the economically relevant breeds:
- Only 70 varieties in commercial fruit growing
- Quantitatively significant only about 20 of them
- The majority of the apples sold come from only 4 types
Lack of cultivar diversity
If you remember your last visit to the supermarket or to the fruit and vegetable dealer, you will notice how large the range is overall, but how few varieties make up the range. According to a survey by the Federal Agency for Agriculture and Food in 2015/2016, more than half of the quantity sold was obtained from the following cultivars:
- Elstar (market share 17.9 percent)
- Red Prince (14.7 percent)
- Jonagored (14.5 percent)
- Braeburn (11.5 percent)
In addition, Jonagold with 8.2 percent and Gala with 7.1 percent were still comparatively close to the 10 percent mark. All other apple market shares were significantly lower in the mid to low single digits.
Causes of cultivar decline
Anyone who knows older apple varieties from their grandparents or even from their own meadow orchard, which were widespread until a few decades ago, will be given names like
- boskoop
- Cox Orange
- gold parmesan
- White clear apple
and others still be common. Some of these old varieties were cultivated for centuries and always had their right to exist. The apples differ in terms of their ripeness (e.g. clear apples in late spring), their ability to be stored (e.g. Boskoop in a cold cellar until the end of February) or their use (e.g. Cox orange earlier than a typical cake apple). In times of declining self-sufficiency and ever better, technically perfected storage options, these criteria hardly play a role anymore. One can certainly come to the conclusion that the social and technical developments of the last few decades have contributed to the declining number of apple varieties native to Germany.
