THREAT OF THE FAKE ALPHONSO

Imposters are sullying the fair name and reputation of the famed Alphonso mango grown in the Konkan, forcing its cultivators to stamp their product with a unique encrypted identity

- By DHAVAL S. KULKARNI

IF the mango is the king of fruits, then the Alphonso has to be the king among kings. This mango variety, which is said to have derived its name from the Portuguese general Afonso de Albuquerque, was grafted by Jesuit missionaries in the 16th century, travelled across the Konkan, and came to be called the 'Aphoos' in Goa and the 'Hapus' in Maharashtra.

That royal status now seems to be coming under threat from a posse of pretenders who are staking a claim to the crown that rightfully belongs to the variety grown on Maharashtra's Konkan coastline. As the running joke goes, the quantity of Alphonsos sold in the market today is several times higher than what is grown on Maharashtra's Konkan coastline.

You may not fool the true connoisseur perhaps, who knows his Alphonso by its thin skin, distinctive aroma, and thick, fibreless pulp. But not the aam mango-lover, who may not be able to tell a Hapus from the Alphonso wannabes from other states-Valsad in Gujarat, Dharwad in Karnataka, or even Malawi in Africa and pay a greater price for a lesser mango.

Pramod Mankoji Valanj, a 60-year-old retired state government employee, has 362 mango trees on his three-acre orchard in Wada in Devgad taluka of Sindhudurg district. Mangoes grown elsewhere but misbranded as the Devgad variety or cheaply-priced fruits mixed with the premium Alphonso are affecting their price and reputation, he says. Buyers would rather buy the Alphonso imposters for Rs 600-700 than pay Rs 1,200-2,000 for the original item. "I have to convince consumers that my mangoes are authentic or sell cheaper to stay in the market," says Valanj. Which is why the Alphonso cultivators of the Konkan are now resorting to technology-from tamperproof stickers to QR codes-to save their illustrious produce from mangoes masquerading as Alphonsos.