Are apple seeds sterile?

Question

I was just at a class at my college and my BIO techer said that most apple seeds are sterile. He said that the only way to make them reproduce was by grafting. I can understand grafting to make a better offspring and sweeter fruit, but are apple seeds really sterile ?

Answer 1

Most hybrid apple seeds are sterile. If you plant them most will not grow. The few that do usually are sterile plants. And the few that aren't sterile produce apples nothing like the apple the seeds came from. But, never say never--sometimes one of those plants will make the same kind of apple.

Answer 2

Natural apples trees that are not grown for agriculture and are found in the "wild" are not sterile. The apples we buy in the superrmarket have been biolgically selected, and sometimes genetically altered for the fruit and not the seed. Sometimes sterility is a byproduct.