Peach bagging in the Southeastern U.S

The control of pests and diseases is pivotal in producing high quality peaches in the humid climate of the Southeastern United States. Fruit bagging is proposed as a strategy to physically exclude pests, prevent disease development, and consequently help reduce the reliance on pesticides. Six peach trees from two cultivars (early and mid-season cultivars) were chosen from one organic farm and one conventional farm, and 150 fruit/tree were bagged with 75 being marked as control and left unbagged. In order to understand the effect of bagging on coloring, 50 bags were removed per tree 10 days before harvest. Fruit quality analysis (size, weight, SSC, acidity, color) and disease incidence were assessed at harvest and post-harvest. Bagging increased marketable yield at the organic farm but not at the conventional farm. Fruit quality (size, brix, acidity) of bagged peaches was similar when compared to non-bagged fruit. The intensity of the red blush of the peach was reduced for the bagged fruit compared to control fruit but peaches that were unbagged 10 days before harvest had blush comparable to the control. The effect of bags on postharvest disease incidence was not conclusive. Public surveys showed that potential consumers preferred bagged peaches and were willing to pay more for them when informed that the fruit had been less exposed to pesticides.