The first commercial, apple tree nursery was established in New York in 1730. Champlain's first colony in Nova Scotia planted apples, and settlers found nurseries of apples on their arrival in Ohio and Indiana. The nurseries were planted by entrepreneurial Jonathan Chapman, also known as Johnny Appleseed, who reasoned that new settlers and pioneers would want apples on their arrival in the new lands. Today, apples are produced in temperate climates around the world. In addition to China, Japan, Israel, the Mid and Far East, Europe, Australia and New Zealand, they are grown in the Americas.
Apples are, in fact, the most widely grown fruit in North America.
They make up about half of the fruit tree production. In the 35 or more of the 50 U.S. states in which apples grow, over 145 million bushels of apples are harvested each year. About half of these are sold fresh, the other half are processed into apple juice, applesauce or dehydrated products. Apples have been valued since ancient times not just for their taste and nutritive qualities, but also, for their anesthetic, antiseptic, sedative and stimulant attributes as well. Apples are abundant in Quercetin, an antioxidant flavonoid, that is believed to improve lung function.