The impact of pre-harvest fruit bagging on quality and post-harvest performance: A comprehensive review

Pre-harvest fruit bagging is a progressive horticultural technique that enhances fruit quality while offering a sustainable approach to managing pests and diseases. By enclosing developing fruits in protective bags, growers can shield them from various biotic and abiotic stresses, leading to improvements in external traits such as uniform color, smooth texture, larger size, and visual appeal, as well as internal attributes like balanced sugar-acid ratios, enriched aroma, and better flavor retention. This method reduces dependence on synthetic pesticides, minimizes mechanical damage and pest infestations, extends shelf life, and significantly lowers post-harvest losses, aligning well with integrated pest management (IPM) principles. Although the practice involves challenges such as high labor demands, costs, and concerns over the environmental impact of conventional bagging materials, ongoing advancements in biodegradable alternatives and smart, crop-specific solutions hold promise for overcoming these barriers. As consumer expectations and export standards increasingly favor high-quality, residue-free produce, pre-harvest bagging stands out as a viable strategy for boosting both the productivity and sustainability of modern fruit production systems. Continued interdisciplinary research and innovation are essential to optimize this technique for wider adoption, supporting resilient, eco-friendly, and profitable horticultural practices.