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Almond is the most important tree nut grown commercially worldwide. It is cultivated for its edible kernel of high nutritional and economic values. From an agronomic standpoint and thanks to international breeding programs, several commercial cultivars were released mainly for better kernel quality, self-compatibility, and delayed blooming time to avoid frost risks. Almond phenology also attracted the interest of many researchers but no detailed and specific scale was conceived. To standardize phenological observations among scientists and growers on one hand and accurately schedule timing of agronomic managements on the other hand, a precise phenological scale is needed. To date, BBCH (Biologische Bundesanstalt, Bundessortenamt Chemische Industrie) phenological scale is the most accurate and the widely accepted. In this research work, we characterized almond phenological growth stages using the BBCH scale. Eight of the ten principal developmental stages (0 − 9) from BBCH scale were codified and described. The almond principal growth stages were categorized into reproductive and vegetative phenology. Vegetative phenology included: bud development (stage 0), leaf development (stage 1), shoot development (stage 3), and senescence and beginning of the rest period (stage 9). The reproductive phenology encompassed the four following stages: inflorescence emergence (stage 5), flowering (stage 6), fruit development (stage 7), and fruit maturity (stage 8). To better define these phenological growth stages, illustrative pictures were provided along with codification and description. In addition, we used phenological records over three growing seasons from the main production regions of northern Morocco to draw a schematic representation of the chronological progression of principal growth stages in five widely grown almond cultivars: ‘Ferraduel’, ‘Ferragnes’, ‘Fournat de Brezenaud’, ‘Marcona’, and ‘Tuono’. Some agronomical managements intended to be applicable in an almond orchard were discussed.

To produce nut virgin oils at a large scale, mechanical extractions have become widely accepted to obtain nut oils of higher quality without chemical residues. Little is known about kernel oil from the commercially grown almond cultivars in Morocco obtained by press extraction. This work was set up to evaluate effects of different environments on almond oil content (OC) and related quality traits, namely polyphenols (PP), saturated (SFA), monounsaturated (MUFA), polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), and oleic/linoleic (O/L) ratio. To this end, the main cultivars were compared across various sites belonging to northern (typical Mediterranean climate) and the eastern Morocco (hot Mediterranean climate) over three growing seasons (2016–2018). Virgin oil achieved via mechanical press showed high quality as demonstrated by lower records of routinely measured parameters (acid value, peroxide value, and UV absorption coefficients K232 and K270) on one hand and higher records of PP and O/L on the other hand. Cultivars of longer fruit development period (FDP) such as ‘Marcona’ displayed higher OC, while ‘Tuono’ and ‘Fournat de Brezenaud’ (shorter FDP) presented the best record of PP. 2016 (the driest season) had the best scores of OC and PP. Eastern Morocco (relatively hot and dry) showed higher OC, PP, PUFA, but lower MUFA and, therefore, lower O/L. In conclusion, drier environments could enhance OC and foster the accumulation of more PP, PUFA but lower MUFA with a decreased oil stability.

Background Although dopamine D2 receptor agonists, bromocriptine and cabergoline, are notable medications in the treatment of Parkinsonism, hyperprolactinemia, and hyperglycemia, there is an identified relationship between the utilization of D2-like R agonists and the progress of myocardial injury, especially in the early phase of therapy. Objective This investigation aimed to examine the potential activity of sarpogrelate (a 5-hydroxytryptamine 2A [5-HT2A] receptor blocker) in reducing myocardial injury prompted by extended haul utilization of D2 receptor agonists in a model of diabetic rats. Methods In the in vivo studies, both bromocriptine and cabergoline were managed independently and combined with sarpogrelate for about a month in diabetic nephropathy rats. Blood glucose level and other myocardial biochemical parameters were estimated. The probable mechanism for insulin secretagogue action was evaluated through in vitro isolated islets study. Sodium/potassium-adenosine triphosphatase activity was assayed in an isolated microsomal fraction of the renal cortex. Isolated perfused rat hearts were treated with different doses of dopamine before and after being subjected to the tested drugs, dose response of heart rate, and heart contractility were recorded. Results Bromocriptine and cabergoline created a significant reduction in blood glucose level without any action on insulin secretagogues. Bromocriptine prevented the loss of sodium/potassium-adenosine triphosphatase activity in the cortex of an ischemic kidney. Treatment of bromocriptine or cabergoline with sarpogrelate altogether decreased the levels of the elevated myocardial biomarkers in serum. Administration of different doses of dopamine in presence of bromocriptine or capergoline resulted in significantly rising in the heart rate percentage comparing to dopamine alone. A mix of bromocriptine or cabergoline with sarpogrelate diminished both heart rate and contractility, respectively. Conclusions The examination demonstrated that the combined use of sarpogrelate with bromocriptine or cabergoline decreased the potential adverse effects of these 2 drugs on myocardial tissues.

Changes in leaf relative water content (RWC), water potential (Ψw), transpiration rate (E & Tsp), stomatal conductance (gs), maximum quantum efficiency of PSII (Fv/Fm), total chlorophylls, carotenoids, proline and soluble sugars were investigated in young Moroccan olive varieties (‘Moroccan Picholine’, ‘Menara’ and ‘Haouzia’) grown in pots under three water regimes (well-watering, moderate stress and high stress). The water treatment was applied at different growth stages during three growing seasons (2015, 2016 and 2017). Results from ANOVA analyses showed that all parameters were found to be mainly under the impact of the water regime and growth stage. In fact, the severe stress led to significant reductions in Ψw, gs, E and Tsp by more than 24%, but also in RWC, Fv/Fm and total chlorophylls with percentages lower than 15%. In contrast, water shortage activated the accumulation of proline and soluble sugars by about 13%. Among growth stages, the bud development displayed the highest levels for RWC, Ψw, gs, E, Tsp and Fv/Fm, and the lowest ones for proline and soluble sugars, whilst, the opposite was observed during the fruiting stage. Although the impacts of variety, growing season and interactions were of minor extents, we observed some significant differences. In fact, the young olive trees belonging to 'Moroccan Picholine' have shown more resistance to water stress, especially during the 2017 season. Principal component analysis (PCA) showed that 92% of the total observed variability was explained by the first two principal components, and allowed a good discrimination among the tree water regimes and the five growth stages. In addition, positive relationship was established between proline and soluble sugars, which were found negatively associated with the remaining parameters.