Evaluation of Fruit Bunch Bagging Techniques for Improvement of Loquat Fruit Quality

China is the leading country in the loquat (Eriobotrya japonica L.) production followed by Spain and Japan. In Pakistan it is mainly cultivated in two provinces i.e. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab. Present study is aimed to standardize bagging techniques for loquat fruit to enhance quality. Five treatments such as control (unbagged), magazine paper bags, zip locked perforated plastic bags, Chinese paper bags and butter paper bags were used with three replications. Data were recorded for various parameters, including fruit firmness, fruit color, fruit size, fruit and seed weight, ascorbic acid (mg/100g), titratable acidity (%), TSS (°Brix), and reducing and non-reducing sugars. All treatments showed a significant effect on the differences in the evaluated parameters. It was observed that fruit size, fruit weight and ascorbic acid were enhanced when using magazine paper bags (MPB), while fruit firmness, total soluble solids and skin color showed better results in loquat fruits wrapped with zip-locked perforated plastic bags (ZLPPB) compared to the control (unwrapped fruit). Among the bagging treatments, it was revealed that titratable acidity was highest in butter paper bags. RCBD was used for this study. All the readings were subjected to ANOVA and LSD Test (Least Significant Difference Test) for comparison at a 95% level of confidence. In conclusion, fruit bagging at the early developmental stage of fruit in loquat plants with zip-locked perforated plastic bags (ZLPPB) and magazine paper bags (MPB) can be a good choice to enhace the quality of loquat fruit.