Cloned banana plants thrive in Basra
Abduladhim Kadhim is a man on a mission - to bring once-plentiful banana plants back to the Iraqi city of Basra.
In the 1970s, he says, most gardens here had a banana tree or two -- of a local variety. But they died out.
Now Kadhim's team wants to introduce these clones of a variety called the Grand Nain.
They were first imported from Egypt, and propagated using the tissue.
They could be a boon for local farmers.
"In Basra, we don't have a problem with cold weather, but we do with the heat. So we can plant either in the shade of a greenhouse, or under palm trees. The farmer who has palm groves can benefit more from his land by planting bananas between the palm trees, the dates, to earn himself extra income."
Getting the Grand Nain to flower was a challenge, because of rising temperatures and water scarcity.
Now though, Kadhim's team is providing seedlings to farmers in Basra and beyond, hoping they'll adopt the fruit and start producing it locally.
