Farmers in Maysan begin seasonal grafting of sidr trees

MAYSAN — In the village of Al-Masalkh, located between Amarah and Al-Majar in Maysan governorate, farmers have begun the seasonal grafting of Christ’s thorn jujube–or Ziziphus spina-christi trees–locally known as sidr or nabk, using cultivars such as tuffahi, bambawi, and the popular red Pakistani variety.

Rahim Hamid, a veteran grafting specialist, told 964media he has worked with sidr trees since 1994.

“The first method I learned was eye budding — grafting with bark — and over time, I picked up other techniques,” he said. “I learned everything from the agriculture book we studied in elementary school.”

Sidr trees produce small, edible fruits known as nabk, which range in color from green to yellow, red, or brown as they ripen. With their sweet, slightly tangy flavor, the fruits are widely consumed fresh or dried across the Middle East and North Africa.

Hamid believed he introduced the red Pakistani variety to Amarah about seven years ago after receiving cuttings from a friend in Samawah. “I started propagating it, but during my visits and grafting in other areas, I discovered it had already been in Maysan since 1986. There’s still a massive tree of that type standing today.”

Although newer types — such as the seedless Thai and armooti varieties — have entered the region, the red Pakistani sidr remains a local favorite. “A friend took cuttings from me about four or five years ago, and now, thankfully, it’s growing widely in Amarah,” he said.

Still, the variety struggles commercially. “It spoils quickly, so shops don’t prefer it. They go for the Basrawi apple variety because it lasts several days in storage,” Hamid explained.

Over the years, he has worked with many types of Ziziphus spina-christi, including bambawi, zaytouni, tuffahi, armooti, the red Pakistani, and one with a deep purple hue resembling eggplant. The largest farm he has worked on contained 3,000 trees.

“So far, I’ve grafted 250 sidr trees. God willing, I’ll complete the rest soon,” he said.