Apricot


An apricot is a fruit, or the tree that bears the fruit, of several species in the genus Prunus. Usually an apricot is from the species Prunus armeniaca, but the fruits of the other species in Prunus sect. Armeniaca are also called apricots. In 2023, world production of apricots was 3.7 million tonnes, led by Turkey with 20% of the total.
Prunus armeniaca was domesticated in ancient times in Central Asia and China. The specific epithet armeniaca refers to the country of Armenia in Western Asia. Cultivation of the tree then spread across Eurasia and to North Africa and Japan. The fruit is consumed both fresh and dried. Apricots are used in dishes including cakes, tarts, and jam, and in savoury dishes, for example in stuffing. In Austria, they are the basis of Marillenknödel, sweet apricot dumplings.

Etymology

Apricot first appeared in English in the 16th century as abrecock from the Middle French aubercot or later abricot, from Spanish albaricoque and Catalan abercoc, in turn from Arabic الْبَرْقُوق, from Byzantine Greek βερικοκκίᾱ, derived from late Greek πραικόκιον from Latin praecocia'.

Description

The apricot is a small tree, up to tall, with a round canopy and a spread similar to its height. The flowers are white or pinkish, about wide, appearing before the leaves early in the spring. The fruit is a succulent orange-yellow drupe tinged with red. The single seed is enclosed in a hard shell.

Taxonomy

Apricots are species belonging to Prunus sect. Armeniaca. The taxonomic position of P. brigantina is disputed. It is grouped with plum species according to chloroplast DNA sequences, but more closely related to apricot species according to nuclear DNA sequences.
  • Prunus armeniaca – common apricot, widely cultivated for its edible fruit and kernel
  • Prunus brigantina – Briançon apricot, native to Europe, cultivated for its edible fruit and oil-producing kernel
  • Prunus cathayana – native to Hebei
  • Prunus × dasycarpa – purple apricot, cultivated in Central Asia and adjacent areas for its edible fruit
  • Prunus hongpingensis – Hongping apricot, native to Shennongjia, cultivated for its edible fruit
  • Prunus hypotrichodes – native to Chongqing
  • Prunus limeixing – cultivated in northern China for its edible fruit
  • Prunus mandshurica – Manchurian apricot, native to Northeast Asia, cultivated for its kernel, the fruits of some cultivars edible
  • Prunus mume – flowering apricot, native to southern China, widely cultivated for its beautiful blossom and edible fruit
  • Prunus sibirica – Siberian apricot, native to Siberia, Mongolia, northern China, and Korea, cultivated for its kernel
  • Prunus zhengheensis – Zhenghe apricot, native to Fujian

    Cultivation

Origin and domestication

The most commonly cultivated apricot Prunus armeniaca was known in Armenia during ancient times, and has been cultivated there for so long that it was previously thought to have originated there, hence the epithet of its scientific name. However, this is not supported by genetic studies, which instead confirm the hypothesis proposed by Nikolai Vavilov that domestication of P. armeniaca occurred in Central Asia and China. The domesticated apricot then diffused south to South Asia, west to West Asia, Europe and North Africa, and east to Japan.

Cultivation practices

Apricots have a chilling requirement of 300 to 900 chilling units. A dry climate is good for fruit maturation. The tree is slightly more cold-hardy than the peach, tolerating winter temperatures as cold as or lower if healthy, with large differences between cultivars. They are hardy in USDA zones 5 through 8. A limiting factor in apricot culture is spring frosts: They tend to flower very early, and spring frost can kill flowers or before flower buds in different stages of development. Furthermore, the trees are sensitive to temperature changes during the winter season. In China, winters can be very cold, but temperatures tend to be more stable than in Europe and especially North America, where large temperature swings can occur in winter. Hybridization with the closely related Prunus sibirica offers options for breeding more cold-tolerant plants. Apricots prefer well-drained soils with a pH of 6.0 to 7.0.
Apricot cultivars are usually grafted onto plum or peach rootstocks. The cultivar scion provides the fruit characteristics, such as flavor and size, but the rootstock provides the growth characteristics of the plant. Some of the more popular US apricot cultivars are 'Blenheim', 'Wenatchee Moorpark', 'Tilton', and 'Perfection'. Some apricot cultivars are self-compatible, so do not require pollinizer trees; others are not: 'Moongold' and 'Sungold', for example, must be planted in pairs so they can pollinate each other.
Plant breeders have created what is known as a "black apricot" or "purple apricot",, a hybrid of an apricot and the cherry plum. Other apricot–plum hybrids are variously called plumcots, apriplums, pluots, or apriums.

Pests and diseases

Diseases of apricots vary with climate. In California's hot Central Valley, pit burn, a condition of soft and brown fruit around the pit, is common. Bacterial diseases include bacterial spot and crown gall. Fungal diseases include brown rot caused by Monilinia fructicola late in the season. In periods of heavy rain, the flowers can suffer from blossom wiltwhere the flowers and young shoots turn brown and die; the twigs die back in a severe attack. Dieback of branches in the summer around pruning wounds can be caused by the fungus Eutypa lata. Other fungal diseases are black knot, Alternaria spot and fruit rot, and powdery mildew. Unlike peaches, apricots are not affected by leaf curl, and bacterial canker and silver leaf are not serious threats, which means that pruning in late winter is considered safe.

Production

In 2023, world production of apricots was 3.7 million tonnes, led by Turkey with 20% of the total. Other major producers were Uzbekistan, Iran, Italy, and Algeria.
Malatya is the center of Turkey's apricot industry.

Toxicity

Apricot kernels contain amygdalin, a poisonous compound. On average, bitter apricot kernels contain about 5% amygdalin and sweet kernels about 0.9% amygdalin. These values correspond to 0.3% and 0.05% of cyanide. Since a typical apricot kernel weighs 600 mg, bitter and sweet varieties contain, respectively, 1.8 and 0.3 mg of cyanide.

Uses

Fruit

Fresh apricots can be cooked in dishes such as cakes and tarts, or made into jam. Dried apricots can be used in similar ways, and included in stuffing for meat dishes, stews, granola, and muesli. In Austrian cuisine, Marillenknödel are dumplings stuffed with apricots, garnished with breadcrumbs fried in butter and dusted with sugar. In Mediterranean cuisine, a cooling drink is made by dissolving apricot paste in water. Barack is a Hungarian apricot brandy.

Kernel

Due to their natural amygdalin content, culinary uses for the kernel are limited because of the risk of cyanide poisoning. Oil made from apricot kernels is safe for human consumption without treatment because amygdalin is not oil soluble. Ground up shells are used in cosmetics as an exfoliant. As an exfoliant, it provides an alternative to plastic microbeads.
The kernels can be made into a plant milk.

Nutrition

A raw apricot is 86% water, 11% carbohydrates, 1% protein, and less than 1% fat. In a reference amount of, a raw apricot supplies 48 Calories and is a moderate source of vitamin A and vitamin C, with no other micronutrients in significant content.

Phytochemicals

Apricots contain phytochemicals, such as polyphenols, including catechins and chlorogenic acid. Taste and aroma compounds include sucrose, glucose, organic acids, terpenes, aldehydes and lactones.

Dried apricots

Dried apricots are a type of traditional dried fruit. Dried apricots are 31% water, 63% carbohydrates, 4% protein, and contain negligible fat. When the water content of apricots is decreased by drying, the mass fraction of micronutrients is increased, such as for vitamin A, vitamin E, and potassium, each having higher contents than in raw fruit.

Wood

Apricot wood is used for the production of the duduk, an Armenian woodwind instrument.

In culture

The apricot is the national fruit of Armenia, mostly growing in the Ararat plain. It is often depicted on souvenirs.
The Chinese associate the apricot with education and medicine. For instance, the classical word 杏 壇 which means "educational circle", is still widely used in written language. Zhuangzi, a Chinese philosopher in the fourth century BC, told a story that Confucius taught his students in a forum surrounded by the wood of apricot trees. The association with medicine in turn comes from the common use of apricot kernels as a component in traditional Chinese medicine, and from the story of Dong Feng, a physician during the Three Kingdoms period, who required no payment from his patients except that they plant apricot trees in his orchard upon recovering from their illnesses, resulting in a large grove of apricot trees and a steady supply of medicinal ingredients.
The short and unreliable apricot season in Egypt has given rise to the common Egyptian Arabic and Palestinian Arabic expression filmishmish or bukra filmishmish, uttered as a riposte to an unlikely prediction, or as a rash promise to fulfill a request.
In Middle Eastern and North African cuisines, apricots are used to make Qamar al-Din, a thick apricot drink that is a popular fixture at Iftar during Ramadan. Qamar al-Din is believed to originate in Damascus, Syria, where the variety of apricots most suitable for the drink was first grown. In Jewish culture, apricots are eaten as part of the Tu BiShvat seder.
In the U.S. Marines it is considered exceptionally bad luck to eat or possess apricots, especially near tanks. This superstition has been documented since at least the Vietnam War and is often cited as originating in World War II. Even calling them by their name is considered unlucky, so they are instead called "cots", "Forbidden fruit" or "A-fruit".
American astronauts ate dried apricot on the Apollo 15 and Apollo 17 missions to the moon.