Effects of preharvest bagging on soft nose disorder in mango (Mangifera indica L. cv. ‘Keitt’) during postharvest

ABSTRACT Internal breakdown is a common physiological disorder in mango growth and development, and ‘Keitt’ mango is sensitive to soft nose disorder. In this study, the effect of preharvest bagging on the occurrence of soft nose disorder of ‘Keitt’ mango was studied. The results showed that the incidence rate of soft nose disorder in bagged mango fruit increased with the increase in the fruit size and storage time, and the contents of mainly mineral elements were also affected by fruit size. The bagging treatment decreased the contents of Ca, N, and K mineral elements and increased the contents of Fe, Cu, Mg, and P. Also, except for Ca, the contents of these elements in the decayed tissues of soft nose fruit were higher than those in the unaffected tissues. Using principal component and correlation coefficient analysis indicated that fruit size was related to the incidence of soft nose and mineral element imbalance rather than the lack of Ca being the main cause for internal breakdown. In conclusion, the preharvest bagging treatment affected mineral element content, and the fruit size of mango also affected the distribution and concentration of the mineral elements.