{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,25]],"date-time":"2026-02-25T07:59:46Z","timestamp":1772006386326,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":45,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,25]],"date-time":"2026-02-25T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1771977600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Plant Sci."],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Introduction<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      Pre-harvest fruit bagging is recognized as an eco-safe strategy to improve fruit quality and reduce biotic and abiotic stresses in high-value horticultural crops. However, its effectiveness in litchi (\n                      <jats:italic>Litchi chinensis<\/jats:italic>\n                      Sonn.) across diverse agro-climatic regions remains insufficiently documented. This study evaluated the impact of bagging materials and application timing on fruit damage, yield, and quality in litchi under multi-location conditions in India.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Field experiments were conducted across nine major litchi-growing regions over four consecutive seasons (2020\u20132023). Seven treatments were tested in a factorial randomized block design, including white and pink non-woven polypropylene bags applied at 15, 25, and 30 days after fruit set (DAFS), along with an unbagged control. Data on fruit cracking, sunburn, borer infestation, yield, fruit weight, total soluble solids (TSS), anthocyanin content, and acidity were recorded. Statistical analyses included ANOVA, hierarchical clustering, and principal component analysis (PCA).<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Bagging significantly reduced fruit cracking, sunburn, and borer infestation, with significant location \u00d7 treatment interactions (P \u2264 0.05). Compared with the control, cracking and sunburn were reduced to \u22644\u20136% and \u22645\u20138%, respectively, while borer infestation remained below 3% in most locations. Yield increased by 10\u201335%, particularly when bagging was applied at 25\u201330 DAFS. Bagged fruits showed higher fruit weight, TSS, and anthocyanin content while maintaining desirable acidity.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Discussion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Pre-harvest bagging is a robust and location-resilient practice that enhances litchi yield and marketable quality across diverse environments, supporting its adoption as a sustainable production strategy.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpls.2026.1779633","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,25]],"date-time":"2026-02-25T07:03:37Z","timestamp":1772003017000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Pre-harvest bunch bagging as an eco-safe intervention for premium quality litchi production: insights from a multi-location study in India"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Sunil","family":"Kumar","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)-National Research Centre on Litchi","place":["Muzaffarpur, Bihar, India"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Evening Stone","family":"Marboh","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Regional Research Centre for Citrus, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)-Central Citrus Research Institute","place":["Bishwanath, Assam, India"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Sushil Kumar","family":"Purbey","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)-Mahatma Gandhi Integrated Farming Research Institute","place":["Motihari, Bihar, India"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Mahesh Kumar","family":"Dhakar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Farming System Research Centre for Hill and Plateau Region, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)-Research Complex for Eastern Region","place":["Ranchi, Jharkhand, India"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Chandan Suravi","family":"Maiti","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Nagaland University","place":["Medziphema, Nagaland, India"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Ganeshi Lal","family":"Sharma","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Indira Gandhi Krishi Vishwavidyalaya","place":["Raipur, Chhattisgarh, India"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Vikas Kumar","family":"Sharma","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Dr. Yashwant Singh Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry","place":["Solan, Himachal Pradesh, India"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Ashok Kumar","family":"Singh","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture and Technology","place":["Pantnagar, Uttarakhand, India"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Satish","family":"Chand","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture and Technology","place":["Pantnagar, Uttarakhand, India"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Samik","family":"Sengupta","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Bihar Agricultural University","place":["Bhagalpur, Bihar, India"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Kalyan","family":"Chakraborti","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya","place":["Mohanpur, West Bengal, India"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Sumanjit","family":"Kaur","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Punjab Agricultural University","place":["Ludhiana, Punjab, India"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Nav Prem","family":"Singh","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Punjab Agricultural University","place":["Ludhiana, Punjab, India"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Sandeep","family":"Singh","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Punjab Agricultural University","place":["Ludhiana, Punjab, India"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Prakash","family":"Patil","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)-Indian Institute of Horticultural Research","place":["Bengaluru, Karnataka, India"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"S. Priya","family":"Devi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)-Indian Institute of Horticultural Research","place":["Bengaluru, Karnataka, India"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Rohit","family":"Kumar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)-National Research Centre on Litchi","place":["Muzaffarpur, Bihar, India"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Ashok","family":"Dhakad","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)-National Research Centre on Litchi","place":["Muzaffarpur, Bihar, India"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Ipsita","family":"Samal","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)-National Research Centre on Litchi","place":["Muzaffarpur, Bihar, India"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Bhagya","family":"Vijayan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)-National Research Centre on Litchi","place":["Muzaffarpur, Bihar, India"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Bikash","family":"Das","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)-National Research Centre on Litchi","place":["Muzaffarpur, Bihar, India"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,25]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"723","DOI":"10.1007\/s42690-021-00596-3","article-title":"Fruit bagging of custard apple (Annona reticulata) as an eco-friendly protection approach against mealybug (Phenacoccus solenopsis) infestation in the north-eastern Bangladesh","volume":"42","author":"Ahmed","year":"2022","journal-title":"Int. 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