Impact of Pre-Harvest Fruit Bunch Bagging on Yield and Quality of Different Litchi (Litchi chinensis Sonn.) Cultivars

AbstractPre-harvest bagging practice enhances harvest timing, minimizes insect infestations, reduces chemical residues, and supports organic cultivation. A study was carried out at the Instructional Farm of UBKV, Pundibari to evaluate the effects of bagging on three litchi cultivars (Calcuttia, Elaichi, and China) using six coloured bags (transparent, yellow, green, blue, red, and black with 5% perforations) and an unbagged control in a factorial randomized block design with four replications. The Elaichi cultivar showed the best performance with reduced fruit drop (27.71%) and maximum fruit retention (64.70%). Unbagged fruits had the highest cracking rate (5.47%) and infestation (10.76%), while bagged fruits were free from these issues. Blue-coloured bags yielded the best results, achieving maximum fruit weight (17.38 g), diameter (3.11 cm), length (3.78 cm), juice yield (7.73 ml), TSS (21.04 °B), total sugar (16.31%), reducing sugar (13.74%), ascorbic acid (32.01 mg/100 g), and anthocyanin content (29.22 mg/100 g). Bagging proved effective in improving fruit quality and reducing losses, particularly during the rainy season.