Morphological and Pomological Variability Analysis of Walnut (Juglans regia L.) Genetic Resources from the Middle and High Atlas of Morocco

Abstract

The walnut (Juglans regia L.) is a traditional fruit crop in Morocco. This species is cultivated in mountain in different environments. However, little data is available on its genetic diversity and its adaptability. Morphological characters of leaf and fruit from 11 Moroccan accessions of walnut were used to assess phenotypic variation of this species. Significant differences were found between accessions for the most examined traits, indicating a high phenotypic diversity. Multivariate analyses lead to identify three groups of accessions. The first group composed by the accessions of both Middle and High Atlas Mountain with high weigh and percentage of kernel and low thickness of shell. The second group included the accessions for the High Atlas Mountain characterised by large leaf, high nut dimension and great nut size. The third group is composed by two accessions, one belongs to the Middle Atlas Mountain and the other originating from High Atlas Mountain, which are characterized by small leaf and nut. Then, the structuration of accessions in three groups was not correlated to the mountain range type. Moreover, this study showed a significant phenotypic heterogeneity between the eleven studied accessions which opens the way for the strategies for their conservation and the selection of efficient genotypes with the desired traits.

Biochemical characterization and antioxidant activity of walnut kernel (Juglans regia L.) of accessions from Middle and High Atlas in Morocco

“…This study revealed that analysis of biochemical parameters showed significant differences between Moroccan walnut accessions. These results are strengthening by previous work on the same accessions by using morphological and pomological traits (Kabiri, Bouda, Elhansali, & Haddioui, 2018).…”

“…According to hierarchical analysis based on biochemical parameters, the Moroccan walnut accessions were structured into four distinct groups independently of the mountain range type. Corroborating it, the results obtained by Kabiri et al (2018) by analyzing the same accessions using pomological and morphological traits. The first group included Aghbala accession, seems to diverge significantly from the others, has the highest level of flavonoids, Zn and B.…”

Identification of the promising Persian walnut (Juglans regia L.) genotypes among seedling‐originated trees

“…More strength shells can better protect the kernels against the harmful organisms that feed on prevent the penetration of fungal pathogens (Korac et al., 1998). Shell thickness ranged from 0.73 to 2.95 mm and is similar to the ranges observed for this character in walnut from different countries (Akca et al., 2015; Kabiri et al., 2018; Karadag & Akca, 2011; Sharma et al., 2014). Generally, the most desirable shell thickness in walnut is 0.70–1.50 mm (Zhadan & Strukov, 1977).…”

“…Nut weighted from 5.53 to 19.24 g with an average of 10.67 (Table 1). The range of 6.00–16.89 g has been reported for nut weight in walnut from different countries (Ahandani et al., 2014; Cosmulescu, 2013; Ghasemi et al., 2012; Kabiri et al., 2018; Karadag & Akca, 2011). Akça et al.…”

“…Kernel color was predominantly light (297 genotypes). A primary object in walnut breeding programs is finding the genotypes with light kernel color (Kabiri et al., 2018). Kernel removal from nuts was easy in the majority of genotypes (251).…”