Chinese soft apples, such as M. asiatica and M. prunifolia, have been cultivated as dessert apples for more than 2,000 years in China. These are thought to be hybrids between M. baccata and M. sieversii in Kazakhstan.[23]

Among the traits selected for by human growers are size, fruit acidity, color, firmness, and soluble sugar. Unusually for domesticated fruits, the wild M. sieversii origin is only slightly smaller than the modern domesticated apple.