Climate suitability for potential Fuji apple cultivation in China

The dominant climatic factors affecting Fuji apple cultivation in China are investigated. The climate suitability for various apple species and the quality of apples that grow in different climate regimes are revealed based on observations from 2084 meteorological stations during the period from 1981 to 2010 and 203 geographic sites where Fuji apples are grown in China. The maximum entropy (MaxEnt) model and the ArcGIS spatial analysis technique are applied. Results indicate that eight dominant climate factors can affect the potential distribution of Fuji apple in China, i.e., annual sunshine hours 2000-2500 h, mean annual temperature 7-14℃, accumulated temperature of no less than 10℃ 3000-4800℃·d, mean temperature of the coldest month -7-0℃, mean daily range of temperature in the summer 8-12℃, annual precipitation 400-800 mm, mean temperature in the summer 20-26℃, and mean relative humidity in the summer 60%-78%. The climate suitable for growing Fuji apple in China is mainly found over the Loess Plateau, the regions surrounding Bohai Gulf, and ancient Yellow River. Among these regions, the climate in Shaanxi, Shanxi and Gansu provinces in the Loess Plateau is the best suitable for growing apples, and Shandong and Hebei provinces still have the potential for large-scale cultivation of Fuji apple in the future.