Bagging technology saves fruits from pests, improves quality

Phuterjhiri village is located in Bandarban's Lama. Rubber, litchi, mango and many other fruits are cultivated in there. The hills are so high that it is quite difficult to see what is growing there. So, I went to see the place from very close.

The extent of cultivation of high value crops on the hills is very impressive. I found a mango orchard set on 30 acres of land two hundred feet high. Three thousand mango trees are full of mangoes, including amropali, mollika, mohanonda, sindhu, subarnarekha, lengra and many more varieties.

The owner of the orchard, Kazi Shahadat Hossain, is not only a skilled and knowledgeable farmer, but an eloquent speaker as well.

“When I started my rubber garden back in the '90s with government support, I thought of growing mangoes also,” said Shahadat. “I have been in love with mangoes since my school life,” added the smiling owner of the mango orchard.

Truly, his visionary idea has brought him where he is now today.

This is just one of his orchards. Shahadat is growing many other fruits on around hundred acres of hilly land. He is a devoted farmer, very passionate about what he does.

This 75-year-old man visits his farms in this remote area two days a week. He has the eyes of an eagle. He guides his staff very effectively so that they can solve problems quickly, if there are any at all. He behaves like a friend with his staff. That is why those working in his orchard feel that they are also part of it; it's their orchard, too.

I learned a lot from this ingenious farmer. This old man can spread the light of success among many others, I realised. In one of his mango orchards, he was talking with the orchard workers about bagging technology.

“Why didn't you bag these?” Shahadat asked one of his workers. “If you had bagged them, it could save them from insects,” he added.

Shahadat is a believer in bagging technology. He covers his mangoes with paper bags, which protects the fruits from pests and bacteria. And, he is getting quality produce using this technology.

“This organic method is helping me unbelievably and it is scientific,” says Shahadat. He has used 40 thousand bags, each costing Tk 5, this year. Apparently, the method seems expensive, but it has increased production of mangoes. Moreover, he can produce medicine-free mangoes.

“I learned about this technology from Hridoye Mati O Manush,” said Shahadat.

Shahadat plans to send 30 tonnes of mangoes to the market this season, although he expected some more.

He has sold litchi worth Tk 2 lakh and papaya worth Tk 15 lakh, and hopes to sell mangoes worth Tk 15 lakh this year. He believes that if bagging technology is used properly in the country, farmers can also export fruits next year.        

Dear readers, a study says that among several good agricultural practices (GAP) throughout the world for the production of high quality fruit with less dependence on man-made chemicals, fruit bagging is one. It is a physical protection method which not only improves the visual quality of fruit by promoting skin colouration and reducing blemishes, but can also change the micro-environment for fruit development, which can have several beneficial effects on internal fruit quality.

The technology can also reduce the incidence of disease, insect, pest and/or mechanical damage, sunburn of the skin, fruit cracking, agrochemical residues on the fruit, and damage caused by birds.

Due to its many useful effects, fruit bagging has become an essential part of peach, apple, pear and grape cultivation in Japan, Australia, China and the USA. Moreover, countries such as Mexico, Chile, and Argentina do not import apples unless they are bagged. Several studies have been conducted to identify the desirable effects of pre-harvest fruit bagging on skin colour development and quality.

Some factors need to be considered: differences in the type of bag used, the stage of fruit development when bagged, the duration of fruit exposure to natural light following bag removal, and/or fruit-and cultivar-specific responses. Natore's progressive young farmer Atique has already done extremely well commercially by using bagging technology on guavas. 

Recently, I had been to China's Shangdong province. In the city of Rushan, I found farmers using bagging technology on 50 percent of their land.

The good news is that Bangladesh has exported fruits to four countries this year, including Germany. Last year we exported fruits to Walmart.     

We need to improve our understanding of the beneficial effects of bagging of different fruits so that more growers could consider using this method on a commercial scale.