Evaluation of Fruit Bagging as a Pest Management Option for Direct Pests of Apple
2018
Daniel L. Frank
Bagging fruit with plastic, paper, and two-layer commercial bags was evaluated for control of insect pests and diseases in an experimental apple orchard planted with &lsquo:Red Delicious&rsquo: trees. Results from fruit damage evaluations at harvest showed that bagging significantly reduced fruit damage from direct apple pests compared with non-bagged control plots, and generally provided similar levels of fruit protection when compared with a conventional pesticide spray program. Of the three bagging materials evaluated, plastic bags provided numerically higher levels of fruit protection from insect pests, and two-layer commercial bags provided numerically higher levels of fruit protection from fruit diseases. Fruit quality as measured by percentage Brix was higher in non-bagged control plots than all other treatment plots. Fruit quality as measured by fruit diameter was not significantly different among treatments. Plastic and two-layer commercial bags generally required less time to secure around apple fruit than paper bags. The proportion of bags that remained on fruit until harvest ranged from 0.54&ndash:0.71 (commercial bags), 0.64&ndash:0.82 (plastic bags), and 0.32&ndash:0.60 (paper bags), depending on the year.
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