| Abstrakt: |
The purpose of this research was a better understanding of the phenotypic diversity of date palms (Phoenix dactylifera L.) in southern Morocco. To determine the total degree of polymorphism and find their distinct phenotypic attributes, 17 date palm accessions from various date palm groves in the Drâa-Tafilalet zone (Zagora) were studied. Thirty vegetative and reproductive parameters were examined, and multidimensional statistical methods were used to assess the data. These findings indicated that the date palm germplasm exhibited a high level of genetic polymorphism. The principal component analysis (PCA) revealed that leaf length and width, spine length and width, and fruit sizes were responsible for a considerable amount of the observed variability. Strong correlations were found between the studied traits, especially between fruit dimensions (length and width) and fruit and pulp weights (0.776; 0.861; 0.868; 0.719), respectively. A positive correlation was also found between petiole width at the bottom and spines (0.706), between petiole width at the bottom and leaflets number (0.765) as well as between spadice length and spadice length at the ramified part (0.673). Five phenotypic groups were identified with levels of dissimilarity ranging from 0.37 to 0.92. The first cluster had four cultivars (Bourar, Mentouj tissgharine, Khalt lohmadi and Khalt abdelghani); the second group possessed six cultivars (Khalt bheir ngli, Khalt iaach, Bouezgagh, Black bousthammi, KHL and Elmensoum); the third cluster included four cultivars (Elahmer chetoui, Elasfer eljaid, Hak feddan laaneb and Khalt khel); the fourth group contained two cultivars (Khalt zoubair ibn laouam and Mentouj lhaj lehbib); and the fifth group contained only one cultivar, 'Khalt iaissi'. In each one of these groups, the similarities observed between cultivars were based on fruit characteristics (semi-dry, dry, and soft dates). This work highlighted the most important traits that can be used for assessing the diversity of date palm trees and fruit. Leaf length and width, spine length and width, and fruit sizes had the highest discrimination value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
