Apricot puree

This article is about the trees and their fruit. Usually, an apricot is from apricot puree species P. Apricots are species belonging to Prunus sect.

It is grouped with plum species according to chloroplast DNA sequences, but more closely related to apricot species according to nuclear DNA sequences. The most commonly cultivated apricot P. 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. Despite the common name, it originated from China, and was introduced to Japan in ancient times. Apricots have a chilling requirement of 300 to 900 chilling units.

A dry climate is good for fruit maturation. 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. Apricots are susceptible to various diseases whose relative importance differs 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. Due to their natural amygdalin content culinary uses for the kernel are limited. 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. Apricot kernels can be made into a plant milk. In 2020, world production of apricots was 3.