Assessment of Genetic Diversity of Moroccan Cultivated Almond(Prunus dulcis Mill.DA Webb)in Its Area of Extreme Diffusion,Using Nuclear Microsatellites

Assessment of genetic diversity of Moroccan cultivated almond (Prunus dulcis Mill.) grown from seed and cultivated at four eco-geographical regions was performed using 16 nuclear SSRs. 238 alleles were detected with an average of 14.88 alleles per locus, ranging from 4 (locus BPPCT027) to 24 (locus CPSCT018). The size of alleles ranged from 84 bp (locus UDP96-003) to 253 bp (locus UDP96-018). A high genetic diversity of the local almonds is apparent and structured into three major clusters (Oasis cluster, High and Anti Atlas cluster, and Middle Atlas cluster). Compared to the Mediterranean genetic pools, from the East to West, the genetic diversity tends to be limited in Morocco which is the area of its extreme diffusion.

YIELD AND FRUIT QUALITY OF ALMOND,PEACH AND PLUM UNDER REGULATED DEFICIT IRRIGATION

The effects of regulated deficit irrigation(RDI)on the performance of almond cv.Tuono,peach cv.JH-Hall and plum cv.Stanley were assessed on the Saiss Plain(NW,Morocco)over three consecutive growing seasons(2011–2013).Irrigation treatments consisted of a control,irrigation applied to fully satisfy crop water requirements(100%ETC),and two RDI treatments,irrigation applied to 75%ETC(RDI-75)and 50%ETC(RDI-50).These three treatments were applied during fruitgrowth slowdown periods corresponding to Stages II and III in almond and Stage II in peach and plum.Yield and fruit quality traits were determined.The effect of RDI differed between species.Yield and fruit size were reduced significantly only in peach under RDI-50.Fruit quality improved in this species in the first year of the experiment,with an increase of sugar/acid ratio and polyphenol content.Plum quality also improved but the effects were significant only in the second and third years.Similar results were recorded in almond kernel,but their epidermal grooves were deeper under RDI-50,and this may have affected their commercial value.It is concluded that water can be saved during the fruitgrowth slowdown period by up to 25%in peach and 50%in almond and plum with improvements in fruit quality without affecting total yield.

ATR–FTIR Spectroscopy Combined with the Invitro Antioxidant Activity and Chromaticity for Rapid Discrimination of Fig(Ficus carica L.)Cultivars

Vibrational spectroscopy analysis of full-ripened fig fruits(Ficus carica L.)was acquired using Fourier-transformed infrared(FTIR)spectroscopy by attenuated total reflectance(ATR).The objective of this study was to investigate accurate discrimination of 25 fig cultivars using chemometric analysis of both ATR-FTIR fingerprinting and in-vitro antioxidant activity along with chromatic coordinates color.In-vitro antioxidant activity was assessed through three methods and displayed statistically significant differences across cultivars and between the fruit parts,with promising antioxidant potency.Infrared spectra were measured separately on both peels and pulp to better know which fruit part provides high discrimination throughput between cultivars.The results showed vibration intensities of five fingerprint regions displaying statically significant differences.The highest vibration intensity occurred in the region of 1175-940 cm^(-1)including the phenols fingerprint.Principal components analysis based on integrated intensities corresponding to fingerprint regions,revealed two main groups in pulp samples,while five groups in peels samples.The pulp extracts of’Nabout’showed a typical vibration in 3000-2800 cm^(-1)and 1775-1725 cm^(-1)regions and,therefore was classified as single subset in cultivars scatterplot.This cultivar had a lightcolored fig and exhibited the highest antioxidant potency for all essays particularly in peel extracts.The biochemical assessment and FTIR fingerprinting data were involved in PCA analysis,and that displayed some dissimilarities in the classification patterns,given the fact that antioxidant activities and chromaticity together could not totally explain the classification based on FTIR fingerprinting between peel and pulp.Application of FTIR-ATR spectroscopy to discriminate fig cultivars seems to be a rapid,accurate and cost-effective alternative to laborious measurement techniques,in fig quality screening and preselection,such as chromatography analysis.This study suggests the use of fig peels for a high-level discrimination while using ATR-FTIR spectroscopy,since it provides high-throughput screening framework.