Apricot

This article is about the trees and their fruit. For other uses, see Apricot (disambiguation).

Apricot and its cross-section

An apricot (US: /ˈæprɪkɒt/ , UK: /ˈeɪprɪkɒt/ ) is a fruit, or the tree that bears the fruit, of several species in the genus Prunus (stone fruits).

Usually, an apricot tree is from the species P. armeniaca, but the species P. brigantina, P. mandshurica, P. mume, P. zhengheensis, and P. sibirica are closely related, have similar fruit, and are also called apricots.

Etymology

Map of the etymology of "apricot" from Latin via Late and Byzantine Greek to Arabic, Spanish and Catalan, Middle French, and so to English

Apricot first appeared in English in the 16th century as abrecock from the Middle French, aubercot, or later from Portuguese, albricoque. The specific name armeniaca was first used by Gaspard Bauhin in his Pinax Theatri Botanici (1623), referring to the species as Mala armeniaca, "Armenian apple". Linnaeus took up Bauhin's epithet in the first edition of his Species Plantarum in 1753, Prunus armeniaca.

Description

The apricot is a small tree, 8–12 m (26–39 ft) tall, with a trunk up to 40 cm (16 in) in diameter and a dense, spreading canopy. The leaves are ovate, 5–9 cm (2.0–3.5 in) long, and 4–8 cm (1.6–3.1 in) wide, with a rounded base, a pointed tip, and a finely serrated margin. The flowers are 2–4.5 cm (0.8–1.8 in) in diameter, with five white to pinkish petals; they are produced singly or in pairs in early spring before the leaves. The fruit is a drupe similar to a small peach, 1.5–2.5 cm (0.6–1.0 in) diameter (larger in some modern cultivars), from yellow to orange, often tinged red on the side most exposed to the sun; its surface can be smooth (botanically described as: glabrous) or velvety with very short hairs (botanically: pubescent). The flesh is usually firm and not very juicy. Its taste can range from sweet to tart. The single seed is enclosed in a hard, stony shell, often called a "stone" or "kernel", with a grainy, smooth texture except for three ridges running down one side.

Apricot leaves

Cultivation and uses

History

Preparing apricots in the grounds of Alchi Monastery, Ladakh, India

David Packard's apricot orchard in Los Altos Hills, preserved by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, is one of the few remaining in Santa Clara County, where apricots were a major crop before the urban sprawl of Silicon Valley.

A 2019 genetic study concludes that apricots were independently domesticated three times, twice in Central Asia and once in China, with extensive cross-pollination between wild and domesticated species across Eurasia.

The origin of the apricot is disputed; it was known in Armenia during ancient times, and has been cultivated there for so long that it is often thought to have originated there. An archaeological excavation at Garni in Armenia found apricot seeds in a Chalcolithic-era site. Its scientific name Prunus armeniaca (Armenian plum) derives from that assumption. For example, Belgian arborist Baron de Poerderlé, writing in the 1770s, asserted, "Cet arbre tire son nom de l'Arménie, province d'Asie, d'où il est originaire et d'où il fut porté en Europe ..." ("this tree takes its name from Armenia, province of Asia, where it is native, and whence it was brought to Europe ..."). A large variety of apricots, around 50, are grown in Armenia today.

According to Soviet botanist Nikolai Vavilov, its center of origin is the Chinese region, where the domestication of the apricot would have taken place. Apricots have been grown in China since 1000 BC. Beginning in about the seventh century, apricots in China have been preserved by various methods, including salting and smoking, and the more common drying. Hubei is noted for its black smoked apricots.

Other sources say that the apricot was first cultivated in India around 3000 BC.

Its introduction to Greece is attributed to Alexander the Great. Subsequent sources were often confused about the origin of the species. John Claudius Loudon (1838) believed it had a wide native range including Armenia, the Caucasus, the Himalayas, China, and Japan.

Apricots have been cultivated in Persia since antiquity, and dried ones were an important commodity on Persian trade routes. Apricots remain an important fruit in modern-day Iran.

An article on Apricot cultivation in Andalusia of Spain is brought down in Ibn al-'Awwam's 12th-century agricultural work, Book on Agriculture.

Egyptians usually dry apricots, add sweetener, and then use them to make a drink called amar al-dīn.

In England during the 17th century, apricot oil was used in herbalism treatments intended to act against tumors, swelling, and ulcers.

In the 17th century, English settlers brought the apricot to the English colonies in the New World. Most of modern American production of apricots comes from the seedlings carried to the West Coast by Spanish missionaries. Almost all U.S. commercial production is in California, with some in Washington and Utah.

Cultivation practices

Dried apricot fruits

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 −30 °C (−22 °F) or lower if healthy. They are hardy in USDA zones 5 through 8. A limiting factor in apricot culture is spring frosts: They tend to flower very early (in early March in western Europe), meaning spring frost can kill the flowers. 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 (Siberian apricot; hardy to −50 °C (−58 °F) but with less palatable fruit) offers options for breeding more cold-tolerant plants. They 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 flavour 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.

Hybridisors have created what is known as a "black apricot" or "purple apricot", (Prunus dasycarpa), a hybrid of an apricot and the cherry plum (Prunus cerasifera). Other apricot–plum hybrids are variously called plumcots, apriplums, pluots, or apriums.

Apricot production (tonnes)
Country	2017
Turkey	985,000
Uzbekistan	532,565
Italy	266,372
Algeria	256,890
Iran	239,712
World	4,257,241
Source: FAOSTAT, United Nations

Pests and diseases

Apricots are susceptible to various diseases whose relative importance is different in the major production regions as a consequence of their climatic differences. For example, hot weather as experienced in California's Central Valley often causes pit burn, a condition of soft and brown fruit around the pit. Bacterial diseases include bacterial spot and crown gall. Fungal diseases include brown rot caused by Monilinia fructicola: infection of the blossom by rainfall leads to "blossom wilt" whereby the blossoms and young shoots turn brown and die; the twigs die back in a severe attack; brown rot of the fruit is due to Monilinia infection later in the season. Dieback of branches in the summer is attributed to the fungus Eutypa lata, where examination of the base of the dead branch reveals a canker surrounding a pruning wound. 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 (causing sunken patches in the bark, which then spread and kill the affected branch or tree) and silver leaf are not serious threats, which means that pruning in late winter is considered safe.

Production

See also: List of countries by apricot production

Main article: List of apricot diseases

According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, world production of apricots in 2017 was 4.3 million tonnes, led by Turkey with 23% of the world total (table). Other major producers (in descending order) were Uzbekistan, Italy, Algeria, and Iran.

Nutrition

Apricots, dried

Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy	1,009 kJ (241 kcal)
Carbohydrates	63 g
Sugars	53 g
Dietary fibre	7 g
Fat	0.5 g
Protein	3.4 g
Vitamins and minerals Vitamins Quantity %DV† Vitamin A equiv. beta-Carotene 20% 180 μg 20% 2163 μg Thiamine (B1) 1% 0.015 mg Riboflavin (B2) 6% 0.074 mg Niacin (B3) 16% 2.589 mg Pantothenic acid (B5) 10% 0.516 mg Vitamin B6 8% 0.143 mg Folate (B9) 3% 10 μg Vitamin C 1% 1 mg Vitamin E 29% 4.33 mg Vitamin K 3% 3.1 μg Minerals Quantity %DV† Calcium 4% 55 mg Iron 15% 2.66 mg Magnesium 8% 32 mg Manganese 10% 0.235 mg Phosphorus 6% 71 mg Potassium 39% 1162 mg Sodium 0% 10 mg Zinc 3% 0.29 mg
Link to USDA Database entry
†Percentages estimated using US recommendations for adults, except for potassium, which is estimated based on expert recommendation from the National Academies.

Apricots, raw

Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy	201 kJ (48 kcal)
Carbohydrates	11 g
Sugars	9 g
Dietary fiber	2 g
Fat	0.4 g
Protein	1.4 g
Vitamins and minerals Vitamins Quantity %DV† Vitamin A equiv. beta-Carotene lutein zeaxanthin 11% 96 μg 10% 1094 μg 89 μg Thiamine (B1) 3% 0.03 mg Riboflavin (B2) 3% 0.04 mg Niacin (B3) 4% 0.6 mg Pantothenic acid (B5) 5% 0.24 mg Vitamin B6 3% 0.054 mg Folate (B9) 2% 9 μg Vitamin C 11% 10 mg Vitamin E 6% 0.89 mg Vitamin K 3% 3.3 μg Minerals Quantity %DV† Calcium 1% 13 mg Iron 2% 0.4 mg Magnesium 2% 10 mg Manganese 3% 0.077 mg Phosphorus 2% 23 mg Potassium 9% 259 mg Sodium 0% 1 mg Zinc 2% 0.2 mg
Other constituents	Quantity
Water	86 g
Link to USDA Database entry
†Percentages estimated using US recommendations for adults, except for potassium, which is estimated based on expert recommendation from the National Academies.

In a 100-gram amount, raw apricots supply 48 Calories and are composed of 11% carbohydrates, 1% protein, less than 1% fat, and 86% water (table). Raw apricots are a moderate source of vitamin A and vitamin C (12% of the Daily Value each).

Dried apricots

Main article: Dried apricot

Dried apricots are a type of traditional dried fruit. The world's largest producer of dried apricots is Turkey. When treated with sulfur dioxide (E220), the color is vivid orange. Organic fruit not treated with sulfur dioxide is darker in color and has a coarser texture. When apricots are dried, the relative concentration of nutrients is increased, with vitamin A, vitamin E, potassium, and iron having Daily Values above 25% (table).

Phytochemicals

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

Apricot kernels (seeds) 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.

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 (literally: "apricot altar") (xìng tán 杏坛) which means "educational circle", is still widely used in written language. Chuang Tzu, 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 (董奉), 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 term "expert of the apricot grove" (杏林高手) is still used as a poetic reference to physicians.

The fact that apricot season is short has given rise to the common Egyptian Arabic and Palestinian Arabic expression filmishmish ("in apricot [season]") or bukra filmishmish ("tomorrow in apricot [season]"), generally 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 (lit. "Moon of the Religion"), 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.

The Turkish idiom bundan iyisi Şam'da kayısı (literally, "the only thing better than this is an apricot in Damascus") means "it doesn't get any better than this".

In the US 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 naming them is considered unlucky, so they are instead called "cots", "Forbidden fruit" or "A-fruit".

Gallery

• 
  Dried date, peach, apricot, and stones. From Lahun, Fayum, Egypt. Late Middle Kingdom. The Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, London
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  Blooms of an apricot
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  Apricot kernel (endocarp and seed)
• 
  Dried apricot, with dark colour due to absence of sulfur dioxide treatment
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  Prunus sibirica (Siberian apricot; hardy to −50 °C (−58 °F) but with less palatable fruit)
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  Apricot tree, Turkey
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  Apricots drying on the ground in Cappadocia
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  Syrian apricot paste
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  Packaging apricot fruits in Uzbekistan
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  Drying apricot fruits

See also

• Barack (brandy)
• Apricot plum, Prunus simonii

External links

• The dictionary definition of apricot at Wiktionary