RADIO TRANSCRIPT
Date: November 19, 2020
Agent: Donna Teasley

Hello, this is Donna Teasley, Horticulture Agent with the North Carolina Cooperative Extension, Burke Center.

With the coming of fall in North Carolina fresh picked apples from our North Carolina orchards are showing up in local stores and markets.

North Carolina plays a major role in apple production in the U.S. ranking number 7 in the country. We have over 200 commercial orchards, using 9,000 acres right here in our state. Up to 4 million bushels can be harvested in North Carolina in a year.

North Carolina commercially grows about 14 varieties of apples. Forty percent of the state’s crop is marketed as fresh apples with the remaining 60% used mainly for apple juice and apple sauce. Americans eat about 18.5 pounds of fresh apples yearly.

An apple tree will begin to bloom and bear fruit in as little as 3 years but in a commercial orchard it can be 8 to 10 years before a tree begins to reach full production and make money for a grower.

Now you know a little bit more about the apples grown here in North Carolina. They’re a convenient snack, fat free and a great source of fiber in the diet and best of all they’re delicious! So think about eating a North Carolina grown apple or even better a Burke County grown apple today.

This is Donna Teasley with the North Carolina Cooperative Extension, Burke Center. For more information about this program you can give us a call at 764-9480.