Quality of guava fruits bagged with different materials in an organic system

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the interference of bagging materials on the incidence of insect larvae and the physical and chemical quality of the guava cv. Paluma in an organic system. The experimental design was in randomized blocks with seven treatments and four replications of 25 fruits each. The bagging materials (treatments) were: nonwoven fabric (TNT), transparent plastic bag, white plastic bag, parchment paper, kraft paper, and non-bagged fruits (control). The titratable acidity (TA), ascorbic acid, soluble solids (SS), SS/TA ratio, fresh mass, fruit diameter, fruit length, appearance, and fruit fly incidence were evaluated. Fruit bagging increased the fresh fruit mass, except the tulle bag, which did not change fruit diameter but increased fruit length. There was a high incidence of fruit flies in the non-bagged fruits (100%) and in those with tulle bags (56.53%), reduced to 2.15% when using parchment paper, and reaching the absence of bored fruits when using nonwoven fabric, transparent plastic, and white plastic bags, materials that provided the highest percentages of marketable fruits. All bagging materials did not change the total titratable acidity content and the SS/TA ratio; however, all of them reduced the content of total soluble solids, except the tulle bag. Fruit bagging with nonwoven fabric and parchment paper increased the content of ascorbic acid. Fruit bagging with parchment paper, plastic bag, and nonwoven fabric are efficient in the organic production of guavas for preventing the infection by insect larvae and maintaining the physical and chemical quality of the fruit.

Influence of Bagging on the Development and Quality of Fruits

“…In addition, bagging is able to promote the production of high-value organic fruits, as demonstrated for organic peaches in the southeastern United States by Allran et al [15], who showed that fruit quality (size, Brix degree, acidity) was similar between bagged and control fruits, and by Campbell et al [16], who reported that bagging protects against various pests and diseases but has minimal effects on organic peach quality. Similar findings were obtained by Araújo Neto et al [17] after a bagging treatment of organic guava fruits. In addition, for organic fruits, bags can be doubled [18], or, in conventional farming, impregnated with insecticide [19] or sprayed with insecticides/fungicide before bagging [20].…”

Pruning and Fruit Thinning of Psidium guajava cv. Paluma under a Seasonal Tropical Climate

“…Bhagawati et al [20] observed that fruit biochemical properties, total soluble solids, and total sugars increased with improved pruning severity and reported higher TSS, ascorbic acid, total sugar, reducing sugar, and non-reducing sugar contents under more drastic pruning, but much of the productivity and quality of the fruits in the harvests also suffered variations due to the seasonality of the seasons. Araújo Neto et al [32] observed that regardless of the pruning levels, biochemical changes naturally arise due to the genetic characteristics of the cultivar.…”