Srinagar, May 19 -- "This year," he says, brushing pollen from a cluster of buds, "might be different."

That hope is shared across Kashmir's orchards and marketplaces.

Following Ankara's vocal support of Islamabad in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack, where 25 tourists were killed, a wave of public and commercial backlash has swept across India.

While the geopolitical fallout has triggered diplomatic and academic rifts, it is in India's fruit mandis that one of the most telling shifts is taking place.

And at the center of that shift is an unexpected target: Turkish apples.

Once the dominant foreign apple in Indian markets, Turkish fruit is now facing spontaneous boycotts from Prayagraj to Pune.

The boycott, though unoffici...