Why Do Pomegranates Need To Be Bagged?

Autumn is coming, and it's a good time to eat pomegranates. During the process of planting pomegranates, we see that pomegranates are all in bags, so why do pomegranates need to be bagged? When to bag? What are the pomegranate bagging techniques?

Pomegranate in paper bags

The benefits of pomegranate bagging

Pomegranate bagging is one of the tasks that farmers often do when planting pomegranates. It not only ensures the cleanness of the fruit surface, but also effectively solves the problems of pests and diseases of pomegranate, and improves the yield, and quality of fruit.

Pomegranate planting is a long process, during which different diseases and insect pests will attack, so pomegranate bagging is a very important process. If the pomegranate is not bagged, there will be pitting, water stains, black mold, insect damage, etc., which not only affects the beauty of the fruit surface but also affects its economic value. It stands to reason that the photosynthesis of pomegranate without bagging is better, and the nutritional value of pomegranate is higher, but would you like to buy a bad-looking pomegranate? Therefore, pomegranates are generally bagged. Every year, fruit growers spend a lot of time and energy on bagging. After bagging, fruit flies can’t fly in. The damage to the peel is small, and the color of the peel is very good. Just take the bag a few days before harvest and let it be exposed to the sun, so that the peel will be colored quickly, and the color will be bright and shiny, which is beneficial to the sale of pomegranates.

When to bag pomegranate

The time for bagging with paper bags should be early but not too late. Generally, the fruit is bagged after the color conversion period, about mid-June. After the bagging, the pomegranate is protected from pests and the rate of insects drops, generally in the morning. Do not bag the pomegranate when the dew is not dry, when it rains, and when the liquid medicine is not dry after spraying. It is better to have sunny weather and full sun. Due to the airtightness and high temperature inside the bag, the bagging is easy to sunburn early, leaving disease spots and affecting fruit growth, but it should not be too late, which affects the bagging effect and fails to prevent pests and diseases. According to experiments, it is best to start bagging in the first ten days of August and mid-August.

Pomegranate bagging technology

There are two main types of pomegranate fruit bags: paper bag and plastic bag. The paper bag has good air permeability. It can be bagged after the fruit is set. There is no need to spray pesticides on the tree after bagging. The fruit matures early, has good color, high quality, and is more durable in storage. Plastic film bags have the advantages of low price, easy operation, long harvest period (about 30 days), non-aging fruit surface, reduced fruit cracking, and large yield increase. The disadvantage is that it has poor air permeability. Premature use will affect the development of the fruit. It can only be used in the first half of August. Since there is no protection in the early stage, pests and diseases should be controlled according to naked fruit management in the early stage. Due to poor air permeability, the fruit is poorly colored, which affects the appearance and color. In addition, due to the delayed maturity period and late harvest, the nutrient accumulation and tree vigor recovery period before overwintering are shortened, the nutrient accumulation level is reduced, and the risk of freezing damage to the tree in winter is increased.

2. Management before bagging

 1) Thinning and fixing fruit

The pomegranate flower is a bisexual flower. From spring to summer, with the fruiting branches, it blooms continuously. The flowering period is up to 2 to 3 months. The growth of fruits is quite different at different flowering periods. It is necessary to remove the degraded flowers that are not mature in time. Secondly, it is necessary to thin out diseased and insect fruits, deformed fruits, and disabled fruits. At the same time, according to the standards of keeping strong but not weak, and keeping single but not double, dense fruits such as double fruits and cluster fruits should be thinned out in time.

 2) Apply foot base fertilizer

In the flowering period and young fruit expansion period before bagging, topdressing should be done in time. According to the size of the tree, 125~150g of special fertilizer for each fruit tree should be applied to increase the fruit setting rate.

 3) Insecticide and disease resistance

Before bagging, a full-scale spray of insecticide and antibacterial agent in the garden, because it is a critical period for preventing and controlling pomegranate pests before and after fruit set. For the prevention and control of insect pests such as aphids and bugs.

Method of bagging

 1) When setting the paper bag, open the top of the paper bag, reach into the bag with your left hand, and lightly press the fruit bag with your right hand to make the fruit bag round. Put the fruit into the bag from bottom to top and place it in the center of the bag. Be careful and not to let the fruit touch the paper bag as possible, and then pinch the paper bag from both sides to the middle into a wrinkle with the thin iron wire on the side of the bag. If the stalk of the fruit is tightly attached to the fruit branch, the fruiting branch should be put together when bagging. Do not twist the fruit branch or the fruit bag.

 2) When covering the film bag, open the top of the bag, put the fruit in the center of the bag, and leave 1/2 of the length of the entire film bag underneath. The direction of force must always be upwards to avoid pulling the fruit. When sealing the bag, pinch one end of the film bag with both hands, and loop around the branches in the opposite direction, tying them tightly to avoid being blown off by the wind.

Management and harvesting of fruits after bagging

Bagging management

1) Strengthen fertilizer and water management. After bagging, applying phosphorus and potassium fertilizers will help the fruit expand and improve its quality. Generally, 25-50kg organic fertilizer is applied to each plant. Furrow application is the best method of fertilization, but not too close to the tree to avoid excessive root damage. After bagging, it is a period of the rapid growth of the fruit. Water in time to promote fruit growth, Improve pomegranate production.

2) Cut in time in summer. The new shoots that germinate below 50cm from the ground should be cut off in time to facilitate the growth of the trunk and fruit.

Picking and harvesting

The fruit development period of pomegranate is generally about 120 days. After the fruit enters the maturity stage 110 days after the flower falls, the seal under the paper bag is torn first, and the bag can be harvested after the coloring is complete and the seeds are fully mature. The fruit in the film bag is picked together with the film bag after the fruit surface is fully colored.