Effects of bagging on fruit characteristics and physical fruit protection in red pitaya (Hylocereusspp.)

Abstract

The effects of bagging on fruit characteristics and its role in physical fruit protection were investigated in three pitaya cultivars: Vietnam White (VN-White) and Chuchi Liu (Hylocereus undatus), and Chaozou 5 (Hylocereus sp.). The experiment comprised four treatments: paper-white bag (P-WB), net screen-black bag, polyethylene plasticblack bag (PP-BB), polyethylene plastic-white bag (PP-WB) and non-bagged control. Fruit bagging did not change the fruit lightness but significantly affected other peel colorimetric parameters. VN-White fruits bagged with P-WB became redder (a* ¼ 27.6), less yellow (b* ¼ 4.4) and had higher colour purity (h8 ¼ 10.7) than non-bagged fruits. Fruits with P-WB in Chuchi Liu also showed significant difference in b* and h8 values as compared with control. Bagging with PP-BB or PP-WB in Chaozou 5 also produced redder fruits (a* ¼ 31.7 and 30.3) with more colour intensity (C* 5 32.4 and 31.3) than non-bagged fruits. There were no significant differences in fruit size and weight, total soluble solids content and fruit ripening duration among treatments in all three cultivars. Fruit firmness also exhibited no significant differences among most treatments except for PP-BB, which gave a lower value than other treatments. In general, fruit bagging could reduce the peel thickness but could not increase the edible fruit rate. The most important role of fruit bagging was to effectively protect fruits from physiological factors such as cracking, bird damage and blemish, which led to the significant decrease of the total damaged and defective fruits (13.7-33.3%), as compared with non-bagged control (66.7-72.6%).

Net Houses Effects on Microclimate, Production, and Plant Protection of White-fleshed Pitaya

“…In recent years, C* (chroma) and h°have been used as indicators of pitaya fruit color (Chang et al, 2016;Ortiz and Takahashi, 2015;Tran et al, 2015a), with C* representing saturation and h°indicating visual color (McGuire, 1992). The h°of white pitaya at early development is yellow-green (118-120°) (Nerd et al, 1999;Ortiz and Takahashi, 2015).…”

“…Individual fruit bagging is a widely used practice in the open-field cultivation of whitefleshed pitaya in Taiwan to minimize the impact of pests on fruit appearance and to benefit peel coloration (Tran et al, 2015a). However, individual bagging is labor and cost intensive.…”

Effect of preharvest fruit bagging on fruit quality characteristics and incidence of fruit physiopathies in fully irrigated and water stressed pomegranate trees

“…To this end, a fruit physical protection technique (preharvest fruit bagging) is sometimes used, alongside other farming practices, to improve fruit quality and to protect fruit from pathogens and pests, reducing the presence of pesticide residues. Indeed, this technique is very frequently used in peach, apple, pear, grape, and loquat farming in countries such as Japan, Australia, China, and the USA . Nevertheless, the literature on the beneficial effects of fruit bagging is not unanimous and some contradictory results have been obtained …”

“…Indeed, this technique is very frequently used in peach, apple, pear, grape, and loquat farming in countries such as Japan, Australia, China, and the USA . Nevertheless, the literature on the beneficial effects of fruit bagging is not unanimous and some contradictory results have been obtained …”

“…15,16 Nevertheless, the literature on the beneficial effects of fruit bagging is not unanimous and some contradictory results have been obtained. [16][17][18] To the best of our knowledge, reports on the response of pomegranate fruit to bagging are very scarce, although Yuan et al 19 showed that bagging is an effective cultivation measure to prevent pomegranate fruit cracking. Shlomo 18 recommended the use of bags open at the bottom as a good mechanical protection against important pest infestations.…”