Quality Characteristics of Twelve Advanced Lines of Avena magna ssp. domestica Grown in Three Contrasting Locations in Morocco.

The popularity of oats (Avena sativa) continues to increase in the cereal market due to their health benefits. The recent domestication of Avena magna, a Moroccan oat, presents an opportunity to enhance these benefits due to their higher nutritional composition. As the impact of microclimates on A. magna grain composition has not been explored, this study evaluates twelve A. magna ssp. domestica lines across three Moroccan locations, providing new data into microclimate effects on key grain characteristics. Significant variability is observed among lines and sites for nutrients, with mean protein, fat, and dietary fiber contents at 23.1%, 8.38%, and 7.23%, respectively. High protein levels, reaching 27.1% in Alnif and 26.5% in El Kbab, surpass the 'Avery' control (21.7% and 24.2%) in these environments. Groats from Bouchane exhibited elevated fat and fiber contents (10.2% and 9.94%) compared to the control (8.83% and 7.36%). While ß-glucan levels remain consistent at 2.53%, a negative correlation between protein content, fat, and starch was observed. A. magna lines exhibited higher levels of iron (7.50 × 10-3 g/100 g DM) and zinc (3.40 × 10-3 g/100 g DM) compared to other cereals. Environmental conditions significantly influence grain quality, with El Kbab yielding higher protein and ash contents, as well as Bouchane having increased fat, fiber, and starch. Stability analysis indicates that fat content was more influenced by the environment, while 25% of protein variability is influenced by genetics. Lines AT3, AT5, AT6, AT13, and AT15 consistently exceeds both the mean for protein and fiber across all sites, emphasizing their potential nutritional value. This study highlights the potential of A. magna ssp. domestica to address nutritional insecurity, particularly for protein, iron, and zinc in domestic settings.

Quinoa Productivity and Stability Evaluation through Varietal and Environmental Interaction.

Chenopodium quinoa is a pseudocereal species identified as a potential crop to mitigate world food security. It has the ability to adapt to diverse agro-ecosystems ranging from sea level to over 4000 masl. Its cultivation in Morocco began in 1999, as it is tolerance to drought, salinity, and frost, and it can grow on marginal soils. It has exceptional nutritional value, as it is rich in proteins, essential amino acids, mineral nutrients, trace elements, vitamins, and unsaturated fatty acids. The present study aims to evaluate the adaptation of 14 quinoa varieties and lines from four different origins through fourteen agro-morphological characters. The experimental trials were conducted at five contrasted agro-climatic sites across the central part of Morocco. The data analysis showed high variability among the tested varieties and between sites for all assessed traits. The Meknes (foot-hill plain) site was the most productive; its grain yield reached 78.6 qx/ha. At the Rabat (coastal land) and Berrechid (continental plain) sites, grain production was respectively 56.4 and 45.9 qx/ha. The SW2 Moroccan line produced the highest grain yield that reached 78.3 qx/ha across sites. The Danish variety Titicaca presented the best harvest index (HI = 0.69) as well as the best "thousand kernel weight" (TGW = 3.4 g). As the mildew infection evaluation, the Vikinga and Titicaca varieties ranked the most sensitive to Peronospora farinosa. The germination rates of the harvested seeds were prejudiced by the sites' high temperatures and were low in Tinejdad (oases site) and El Kbab (mountain plateau). The best average germination rate across sites was that of the Puno variety (84.5%). According to the Additive Main effects and Multiplicative Interaction analysis (AMMI), 23% of the grain yield variability is due to the genotype, while 32% is due to the site by the variety interaction contribution to the production variability. AMMI analysis also ranked the varieties according to their productivity and stability value. Accordingly, two varieties that have yielded above the overall average (42.7 qx/ha) are considered stable; those are Riobamba and W11, which is a local selected line. Titicaca, ILLPA, Atlas cultivars and the SW2 local line presented the best grain yield in one of the experimental sites but performed not as well on the others.

Elevated Genetic Diversity in an F2:6 Population of Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) Developed through an Inter-ecotype Cross.

Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) is a seed crop of the Andean highlands and Araucanian coastal regions of South America that has recently expanded in use and production beyond its native range. This is largely due to its superb nutritional value, consisting of protein that is rich in essential amino acids along with vitamins and minerals. Quinoa also presents a remarkable degree of tolerance to saline conditions, drought, and frost. The present study involved 72 F2:6 recombinant-inbred lines and parents developed through hybridization between highland (0654) and coastal (NL-6) germplasm groups. The purpose was to characterize the quinoa germplasm developed, to assess the discriminating potential of 21 agro-morpho-phenological traits, and to evaluate the extent of genetic variability recovered through selfing. A vast amount of genetic variation was detected among the 72 lines evaluated for quantitative and qualitative traits. Impressive transgressive segregation was measured for seed yield (22.42 g/plant), while plant height and maturity had higher heritabilities (73 and 89%, respectively). Other notable characters segregating in the population included panicle and stem color, panicle form, and resistance to downy mildew. In the Principal Component analysis, the first axis explained 74% of the total variation and was correlated to plant height, panicle size, stem diameter, biomass, mildew reaction, maturation, and seed yield; those traits are relevant discriminatory characters. Yield correlated positively with panicle length and biomass. Unweighted Pair Group Method with Arithmetic Mean-based cluster analysis identified three groups: one consisting of late, mildew-resistant, high-yielding lines; one having semi-late lines with intermediate yield and mildew susceptibility; and a third cluster consisting of early to semi-late accessions with low yield and mildew susceptibility. This study highlighted the extended diversity regenerated among the 72 accessions and helped to identify potentially adapted quinoa genotypes for production in the Moroccan coastal environment.

Wild Thymbra capitata from Western Rif (Morocco): essential oil composition, chemical homogeneity and yield variability.

Essential oils (EO, 15 collective samples and 47 individual samples) of Thymbra capitata collected from Moroccan Western Rif were analyzed using gas chromatography (GC) in combination with retention indices (RI), gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-SM) and 13C NMR spectroscopy. Twenty components were identified. Carvacrol (68.2%-85.9%) was by far the major component of all the samples, while the content of thymol (0.1-0.3%) was very low. Other components present in appreciable amounts were gamma-terpinene (up to 8.9%), p-cymene (up to 7.1%), linalool (up to 4.4%) and (E)-beta-caryophyllene (up to 4.1%). In contrast, the yield of EO varied drastically from sample to sample (0.5-3.7%). No correlation could be established between yield of EO and altitude, pH, chemical composition and granularity of the soil. Cultivation under controlled conditions is suggested to improve the quantitative characteristics of carvacrol-rich Moroccan T. capitata.

Evaluation of genetic variability of sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) in northwestern Morocco by ISSR and RAPD markers.

The study of the genetic variability of the Moroccan landraces of sorghum constitutes a necessary step that can be exploited in the programs of improvement and valorisation of this marginalized species. The aim of this investigation is to evaluate the variability of sorghum populations and to establish their phylogenetic relations using RAPD and ISSR markers. Sampling was taken in 33 fields of northern regions where this species is most cultivated. Individual plants (398) were collected in 13, 11, 5, and 4 fields of Larache, Tangier, Chefchaouen, and Tetouan, respectively. Thirty-eight RAPD primers and four ISSR primers were used. The percentage of polymorphic fragments revealed with ISSR (98%) is higher than the one revealed with RAPD (85%). The level of the variability obtained through the two techniques is very high. Nevertheless, ISSR markers revealed more diversity than RAPD (0.995+/-0.006 against 0.946+/-0.031). The classification based on Jaccard's similarity index distinguished the totality of fields. Data analysis revealed a genetic structure that is closely related to the micro-geographical repartition of the different fields.