AHVAZ – As Iran's demand for wood continues to rise, the Khuzestan Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center has successfully established “Mofid” hybrid poplar nursery, marking a strategic move toward national self-sufficiency in the timber industry and a reduction in reliance on other provinces.

 

Saba Peyro, a faculty member at the Center, announced the launch of the Mofid hybrid poplar nursery, stressing that expanding wood farming is no longer optional but essential.

 

"Given the projected increase in the country's wood needs," she said, "developing wood farming is both necessary and unavoidable."

 

With several large wood-based industries operating in Khuzestan, the academic noted a critical bottleneck, "Currently, most of the wood required by these industries is supplied from other provinces. However, the bulky nature of wood products makes transportation costs a major factor in their final price."

 

Describing the features of the new species, Peyro explained that the Mofid poplar was first developed at Iran's Forests and Rangelands Research Institute by crossbreeding Populus euphratica and Populus alba, specifically to transfer genes for heat and salinity tolerance.