Objective  Improvements on the appearance and fruit quality of Zheli No. 6 pear by bagging were studied.

  Method  Zheli No. 6 pear s on the trees were covered once or twice with a variety of pouches at different times of the fruit development in a field experiment. Appearance and eating quality of the mature pears were monitored.

  Result   The bagged fruits were significantly brighter and more shiny than the counterparts without covering (P＜0.05). The pears matured in the white single-layer large pouches had significantly lower fruit rust index (FRI) than control (P＜0.05) but no significant differences on the contents of soluble solids, total soluble sugar, and sweetness. Those being bagged twice were significantly lower on FRI than control or those being bagged only once. Nor did they differ significantly from control on the contents of soluble solids, total soluble sugar, titratable acid, and VC, but contained significantly more fructose and glucose than control or those were bagged a single time (P＜0.05). When the bagging was held 10d, 20d, and 30d after full bloom, equal to or more than half of the resulting fruits were yellowish green with few rusty streaks and spots having an FRI of 0.471-0.600 and low on latitudinal measurements and flesh density. Bagging 60d after full bloom produced 72.5% of the fruits with fully rusty-appearing peels. And, except for those bagged 10d after full bloom, no bagged pears significantly differed from control on the contents of soluble solids, total soluble sugar, titratable acid, and VC.

  Conclusion   Bagging Zheli No. 6 pears on the tree with the white single-layer large pouches significantly affected the appearance of the matured fruits. Using the white small wax pouch in 10-30d after full bloom followed by the white single-layer large pouch for the bagging fostered bearing of yellowish green fruits. Whereas the non-rust-proof pouches for bagging once in 60d after full bloom encouraged formation of a fully rust, brown peel. Meanwhile, the appealing eating quality of Zheli No. 6 pears would basically be intact under the bagging treatments.