Jay Lawrence Apple was born in Guilford County, North Carolina, in 1926. He earned his degrees from the North Carolina State College of Agriculture and Engineering (later North Carolina State University)--a B.S. in agronomy in 1949, an M.S. in plant pathology in 1953, and a Ph.D. in plant pathology in 1955. Apple then taught plant pathology and genetics at North Carolina State, becoming an assistant professor in 1955, an associate professor in 1961, and a full professor in 1964. He retired as professor emeritus in 1991.

During his career at North Carolina State, Apple served in the School (later College) of Agriculture and Life Sciences as director of the Institute of Biological Sciences, assistant director of academic affairs and research, and associate director of research for international agriculture. He was also chief of the school's foreign assistance program in Peru, and coordinator of international programs for the university. After he retired, Apple was president of the board of directors of the Friends of the Library, and he and his wife established the J. Lawrence and Ella H. Apple Library Endowment for the support of the NCSU Libraries. Mrs. Apple also established the J. Lawrence Apple Endowment to support graduate fellowships at the Department of Plant Pathology.

Apple was secretary of the Agriculture Section of the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences. He was founder and secretary general of the International Association for the Plant Protection Sciences, which was established in 1999 as an umbrella organization over the International Plant Protection Congresses, quadrennial conferences for the promotion of integrated pest management.