New Zealand Journal of Crop and Horticultural Science abstracts

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Preharvest bagging improves packout and fruit quality of pears (Pyrus communis)

Cassandro Amarante¹
Nigel H. Banks²
Shane Max³

Centre for Postharvest and Refrigeration Research
Institute for Food, Nutrition and Human Health
Massey University
Private Bag 11 222
Palmerston North, New Zealand
¹Present address: Santa Catarina State University, Centre of Agricultural, Horticultural and Veterinary Sciences, C. Postal 281, CEP 88502–970, Lages, SC, Brazil. email: amarante@cav.udesc.br
²Present address: Kiwifruit New Zealand Research Limited, P.O. Box 4043, Mt Maunganui South, New Zealand. email: banksn@kiwi.co.nz
³Present address: Colorado State University, Western Colorado Research Center, 3168B ¹Ú₂ Road, Grand Junction, Colorado 81503 9621, United States. email: shane.max@colostate.edu

Abstract  Preharvest bagging of pear fruit (Pyrus communis L. ‘Doyenne du Comice’) with micro-perforated polyethylene bags c. 30 days after full bloom increased the percentage of fruit accepted for export from 27.2 to 63.2%. This was achieved by reducing bird damage (from 28.4% for non-bagged to nil for bagged fruit) and skin blemish (with fruit rejected for export being reduced from 49.3% for non-bagged to 33.4% for bagged fruit). Bags also reduced the level of tracery russet. Preharvest bagging reduced the damaged area of the skin at harvest from 3.15 to 1.49 cm²/fruit for blemishes (preharvest friction damage) and from 1.17 to 0.51 cm²/fruit for friction discoloration (FD; postharvest friction damage). When trees were sprayed with pesticides 3 days before harvesting, bagging reduced fruit residue of captan (non-systemic fungicide) and azinphos methyl (non-systemic insecticide) (P < 0.05). For pears submitted to mechanical damage on a commercial grader, FD area was lower for fruit left protected by the bag (6.03 cm²/fruit) than for non-bagged fruit (14.49 cm²/fruit). For fruit submitted to brush friction damage at harvest and after 8 weeks of cold storage, FD score was higher on non-bagged than on bagged fruit. Bagged fruits that had the bags removed before being submitted to brush friction damage had the same level of FD than non-bagged fruits. Preharvest use of micro-perforated polyethylene bags represents an attractive technology for the pear industry since it can reduce bird damage and skin blemishes, as well as improving fruit postharvest quality by reducing FD and chemical residue.

Keywords  Pyrus communis; preharvest bagging; skin damage; blemish; friction discoloration; chemical residue

H02007 Received 18 January 2002; accepted 12 April 2002
New Zealand Journal of Crop and Horticultural Science, 2002, Vol. 30: 93–98
0014–0671/02/3002–0093 $7.00 © The Royal Society of New Zealand 2002

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