Harvesting Alphonso Mangoes: How Hapus Is Picked by Hand

Alphonso mangoes are harvested by hand from about February to June, with the best supply from March to May. Fruit is picked mature but firm, before dawn, with a zela pole and catching net, then ripened naturally on hay beds. We buy from 48 villages.

For what is available now, see GI-tagged Ratnagiri Hapus.

When Alphonso mangoes are harvested

Alphonso, also called Hapus, is a one-crop-a-year fruit. Harvest runs from about February to June along the Konkan coast, and the best supply reaches buyers from March to May. The 2027 season opens on 1 February 2027. Outside that window we do not sell fresh Alphonso, because the trees do not fruit again until the next year.

We are Powle Home Foods in Mumbai, and we run AlphonsoMango.in. Our fruit comes from across 48 villages of the Ratnagiri and Devgad belt. Ratnagiri is a district, and Devgad is a taluka in Sindhudurg district. Both grow the same Alphonso variety, and we do not claim that one is picked earlier or later than the other. This page explains the steps between a tree and your table.

How growers judge that a mango is ready to pick

An Alphonso is picked mature but still firm. It is not picked ripe, because a ripe mango bruises in the box. Growers read three signs: the colour of the skin, the shape of the fruit, and the colour of the flesh inside. A fruit that has filled out at the shoulders and lost the dark-green look of an immature one is usually closer to ready.

No sign is perfect, and picking too early is the risk everyone worries about. Alphonso can develop spongy tissue, an internal flesh disorder. ICAR-IIHR research traced it to the seed shifting into germination mode at about 60% fruit maturity. That is one reason growers do not simply pick the largest fruit first.

• Skin colour: a change from deep green to a lighter, clearer shade.
• Shape: full shoulders and a well-rounded body.
• Flesh colour: a cut sample shows yellow rather than pale.

We do not publish a number of days from flowering, because it varies by orchard and weather. If a seller quotes one number for every farm, ask how they measured it.

Picking with a zela pole and a catching net

Our fruit is hand-harvested before dawn, in the Brahma Muhurta hours, with a zela pole fitted with a catching net. The cutter reaches the stem, cuts it and lets the fruit drop into the net, so the tree is not shaken and the fruit does not hit the ground. A fall bruises the flesh, and the bruise shows later as a dark patch.

Growers leave a short length of stalk on the fruit. Pulled-off stalks leave an open scar, and the scar lets rot in. When the stalk is cut, a milky sap runs out. It can stain the skin, which changes how the mango looks but not how it tastes.

Handling matters after the cut as well. Fruit is laid down gently, never tipped or thrown into a crate, because every knock shows up later as a soft spot. When you open a delivered box, look at the stalk end and the shoulders first. Clean stalks and unmarked shoulders are signs of careful handling, though they are rough clues and not proof of anything.

What happens after the fruit is picked

Picked fruit goes through sorting before it is packed. Sorting removes fruit with sap burns, blemishes or damage, and it separates mangoes by size. Our guide to Alphonso mango grading explains the size bands. Uniform fruit ripens at about the same pace, which is why grade matters when you open a box.

Two problems are common after harvest. Stem-end rot is a decay that starts near the stalk. Chilling injury happens when fruit is stored too cold. Both are reasons to handle mangoes gently and to avoid the refrigerator before the fruit is ripe.

The Alphonso variety is also a grafted tree. Mango cultivars of the Indian group are monoembryonic, so named varieties such as Alphonso are propagated by grafting. Grafting is how a named variety is multiplied, so the trees in an orchard are copies of a chosen parent tree.

Ripening on hay beds

We do not use carbide. Our Alphonso mangoes are ripened naturally on hay beds. Mature fruit is laid on hay and ripens by itself over several days. Calcium carbide is prohibited for ripening fruit in India under Regulation 2.3.5 of the Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restrictions on Sales) Regulations, 2011. We are an FSSAI-licensed seller, and our details are on the our published brand facts.

Harvest to ripening of Alphonso is about 15 days, according to Wikipedia. Fruit that travels a long way may start to soften on the road, which is why we pack in ventilated corrugated courier boxes and dispatch by Blue Dart. About 65% of Indian PIN codes get next-day delivery, so check your PIN code at checkout.

No single look or smell proves how a mango was ripened. A bucket-of-water test is only a rough clue, not proof. Our guide to ripening an Alphonso mango covers what to do at home.

Questions to ask any seller about harvest

• Who picks the fruit, and how? A clear answer names the tool and the method.
• How is maturity judged? Be wary of one fixed rule for every orchard.
• How long between picking and packing? A seller who tracks this can usually say.
• What happens in transit? Ask which courier is used and what to do if a box arrives damaged.

Our own answers: we buy from 48 villages, harvest by hand, ripen on hay beds, and dispatch by Blue Dart. If a box arrives damaged, it should be reported within 24 hours of delivery by writing to support@alphonsomango.in or calling 8369048029.

Buying fruit that was harvested this way

Alphonso from the Ratnagiri and Devgad belt is GI-tagged in India (GI No. 139). For Alphonso, we hold GI Authorised User certificate AU/5974/GI/139/260 (GI No. 139). Ask any seller the same four questions: where the fruit grew, how it was picked, how it was ripened, and what the paperwork says.

Alphonso sells from Rs 1,849 per dozen, and the largest Ratnagiri option goes up to Rs 5,399. A dozen weighs roughly 1.8 to 3.3 kg depending on grade. Check the product page for today's price. You can open the Ratnagiri Alphonso page or the Devgad Alphonso page, and our season guide lists the months.

If you reach this page out of season, our Alphonso mango pulp tin is available all year from Rs 590.

People also ask

When are Alphonso mangoes harvested?

Alphonso is harvested about February to June along the Konkan coast, and the best supply runs from March to May. It fruits once a year. The 2027 season opens on 1 February 2027, and outside that window we do not sell fresh Alphonso, though pulp tins are sold all year.

How do you know when an Alphonso mango is ready to pick?

Growers look at skin colour, fruit shape and flesh colour. A ready fruit is mature but still firm, with full shoulders and a lighter skin than an immature one. No single sign is perfect, so there is no fixed number of days that fits every orchard.

Why are Alphonso mangoes picked with a pole and a net?

A zela pole fitted with a catching net lets the cutter reach the stem, cut it and catch the fruit. The tree is not shaken and the fruit does not hit the ground. A fall bruises the flesh, and the bruise shows later as a dark patch.

How long does an Alphonso take to ripen after harvest?

Harvest to ripening is about 15 days, according to Wikipedia. The pace depends on how mature the fruit was when picked and how warm it is. We ripen fruit naturally on hay beds, and a delivered box should be checked daily rather than by calendar days.

Related searches

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• Alphonso mango season guide
• How to ripen Alphonso at home
• Why Ratnagiri Alphonso mangoes
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• Alphonso mango GI tag explained

Written by Prashant Powle, founder of AlphonsoMango.in. Last reviewed October 2026.