Many sellers online claim to sell Miyazaki plants at very different prices. I am worried about buying a fake or wrong variety. How do I get a genuine plant and what should I check?
3 Answers
Fake and mislabelled Miyazaki plants are a real problem because of the hype. Since Miyazaki is the brand name for the Irwin variety, ask sellers plainly whether they are selling true Irwin grafted plants and on what rootstock, and be wary of anyone promising viral incomes. Buy only from established, reputed nurseries or government and university horticulture nurseries that can vouch for the mother plant, rather than unknown online sellers with extreme price claims. Insist on grafted plants, not seedlings, since seedlings will not be true to type. Where possible see the mother tree or buy from a source where other growers have confirmed the fruit. Keep purchase records. Most importantly, do not over-invest: buy a few plants to verify they fruit true before scaling up. If a deal sounds too good or too expensive based on hype, walk away. Your local KVK can often point you to reliable nursery sources.
I paid a lot for a plant from an online seller and it turned out to be an ordinary red-ish mango, not what was promised. Buy from a known nursery and start with one or two only.
Always grafted, never seedling, and ask for the rootstock. The cheap seedling ones flooding the market are mostly not genuine.