Bananas also grow in Bjelopavlići

The Radonjić family, who lived in Budva at the time, decided twenty years ago to plant bananas in Bjelopavlići, where they come from. They knew that they would still have to buy the fruits, because the banana cannot ripen due to the climatic conditions and serves only as an ornamental plant, but they wanted to see if the banana can withstand the climate and soil of Bjelopavlić.

"Our house is located on the border between Dobro polje and Mijokusovići, and we came here from Budva 12 years ago. We escaped from the noise and city life and found peace and our oasis here. The late husband loved southern fruits, so he planted olives, Japanese medlars, oranges, grapefruit, tangerines, figs, bananas...", he says. Milanka Radonjić.

He explains that a friend from Budva gave them a banana as a gift - they gave him a fig seedling, and he gave them a tropical fruit.

"My husband started growing bananas first in pots in Budva, watered and fertilized them, and then transplanted them here. We thought it wouldn't activate, but we were wrong. It is received and we have several trees on the terrace".

The banana attracted the attention of the residents of Bjelopavlić, who soon started coming to Radonjić for seedlings, and they went out to meet everyone.

"It also attracts the attention of travelers who pass by, especially cyclists, so they stop, they are not sure if it is a banana or not, they take a photo of it. I explain to them that the fruit grows 5-6 centimeters, that it is mostly green, that in our climate bananas never ripen, so they are not edible, but only for decoration," says a sixty-six-year-old Milan woman who lives in the village with her son, who continued tradition of Radonjić and works as a miller.

He explains that the mother plant dies after bearing fruit, and that new shoots emerge from the underground part, the rhizome, which bear fruit in the third year.

"This year the banana really gave birth. Even if the fruit is edible", says Milanka with a smile.

The Latin name for bananas was given by a Swedish naturalist Karl Line "Musa sapientium", which in translation means the fruit of the sage.

Banana is the fourth most popular agricultural product worldwide and over 100 billion kilograms of this fruit are eaten every year. Bananas are grown in 150 countries of the world, and the largest producers are India and China. There are more than a thousand varieties of bananas that differ in color, shape, taste, and size.