ISHS Acta Horticulturae 586: IV International Symposium on Olive Growing
VARIETAL STRUCTURE OF MOROCCAN OLIVE GERMPLASMS: EVIDENCE FROM GENETIC MARKERS AND MORPHOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS |
| Authors: | N. Ouazzani, A. Idrissi, N. El Ghazi, R. Lumaret |
| Keywords: | Olea europaea, genetic ressources, genetic diversity, local varieties, allozyme markers, primary descriptors |
| Abstract:
Varietal structure of Moroccan olive germplasms was revealed using enzymatic markers at 8 loci. Ten years old olive populations were prospected along a transect from North (Pre-Rif) to South (Anti-Atlas), involving the main ecological areas where the species is cultivated in Morocco. Sixteen alleles and 68 multilocus genotype were identified from the 328 trees analysed. Sixty of the 68 genotypes observed, which were mostly local genotypes, were not present in other varieties studied previously from several Mediterranean countries. The highest values for both local genotype numbers and heterozygosity were observed in the South of Morocco and in the regions where ecological conditions favour the occurrence of wild oleaster. These results reveal a substantial complexity in the varietal structure of the Moroccan olive, as is also the case in other Mediterranean countries. More particularly, evidence was obtained to refute the common idea that only a single variety called "Picholine marocaine" occurs in Morocco. Several other more localised varieties which can be distinguished both morphologically and by their multilocus genotypes, are also present in that country. Such high genetic diversity may be due to the partial domestication of olive material which may be derived from crosses between cultivars or between cultivars and “feral” or wild olive (oleaster) trees. The first results of morphological and agronomical characteristics of the remarkable local genotypes are also given . | |
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