Effects of fruit pre-harvest bagging on the quality and post-harvest storability of longan fruit

Fuyan longan fruit(Dimocarpus longan Lour. cv. Fuyan), the major cultivar in Fujian province of China, was used. Effects of fruit pre-harvest bagging on the quality and post-harvest storability of longan fruit were investigated. Results are as follows: fruit pre-harvest bagging can obviously improve the appearance quality of longan fruit. Whereas, fruit pre-harvest bagging decrease the contents of total soluble solids, titratable acidity, vitamin C and total sugars which result in lower sweetness and less flavor in longan pulp. Fruit pre-harvest bagging decrease the contents of phenolics(including anthocyanin, flavonoid and total phenolics) and the activities of polyphenoloxidase and peroxidase in the pericarp of longan fruit, which are closely related to the pericarp browning of longan fruit. Hence, fruit pre-harvest bagging reduce the occurrence of pericarp browning during longan fruit storage. Meanwhile, fruit pre-harvest bagging can obviously reduce post-harvest diseases of longan fruit which resulted from latent-infected pathogens in pre-harvest cultivation. Therefore, fruit pre-harvest bagging can improve the fruit storability and prolong storage life of longan fruit.