Peach Fruit Bagging in the Southeastern U.S.

Peach growers must control many pests and diseases to be able to produce high-quality peaches under the humid conditions of the southeastern U.S. Fruit bagging is proposed as a strategy to exclude pests and diseases, reduce reliance on insecticide and fungicide applications, and produce high-quality peaches.  Two farms were selected, one using conventional methods of pest and disease management, and another one using certified organic methods. At each farm, ten peach trees of two cultivars with different ripening seasons (early-season and mid-season) were selected, 150 fruit per tree were bagged at thinning time (beginning of April) and the rest were left without bags. Fifty bags per tree were removed ten days before harvest to determine its effect on fruit color. Thus, three treatments were performed on each tree: 1) control (non-bagged) fruit; 2) bagged fruit (until harvest); and 2) unbagged fruit. Fruit quality analyses [size, weight, soluble solid content (SSC),  titratable acidity (TA), and SSC/TA ratio] and disease assessments at harvest and postharvest were performed. Bagging increased fruit recovery by 29% and reduce postharvest brown rot incidence at the organic farm (there was no brown rot in the conventional farm). Fruit quality analyses at both farms showed similar or higher fruit size in bagged fruit than in control fruit (although this did not cause a difference in fruit size category). No differences in SSC, TA or SSC/TA ratio between treatments were found. Bagged peaches developed  red blush although less intense than control peaches; however, unbagging increased the intensity of the blush and color of unbagged peaches was comparable to that of control peaches. Consumer surveys showed that the majority of consumers would prefer bagged peaches after they were informed they were produced inside bags and received essentially no pesticide application. Most consumers were willing to pay a premium for bagged peaches. Based on these results, this technique has a great potential to produce a high-quality and low-residue peach that could be sold for a premium in certain markets  while reducing pesticide applications in the Southeast.