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Background Dopamine D2 receptor agonists, bromocriptine and cabergoline, are notable medications in the treatment of Parkinsonism, hyperprolactinemia, and hyperglycemia. An affiliation was found between the initiation of myocardial injury ailment and long term treatment with dopamine D2 agonist drugs identified with the partial activation of 5-hydroxytryptamine receptor 2 A (5-HT2A). The investigation aimed to examine the activity of sarpogrelate (a 5-HT2A receptor blocker) in reducing myocardial injury prompted by extended haul utilisation of D2 receptor agonists in rats with alloxan-induced diabetes. Methods Both bromocriptine and cabergoline were managed independently and combined with sarpogrelate for about a month in diabetic nephropathy rats. Both tail-cuff blood pressure and the BGL were recorded weekly. For all animals, the kidney hypertrophy index, serum creatinine, blood urea nitrogen, alanine transaminase, and aspartate transaminase levels were measured after one month of treatment. The severity of the cardiac injury was assessed by the estimation of lactate dehydrogenase-1 (LDH-1), cardiac troponin I, and tumor necrosis factor alpha 1 (TNF1). The triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC) staining method was used to determine the experimental myocardial infarction (MI) size. Results Bromocriptine and cabergoline created a significant reduction in BGL, BP, and kidney hypertrophy index in diabetic nephropathy rats. Administration of bromocriptine and cabergoline, alone, or in combination with sarpogrelate fundamentally diminished the blood concentrations of alkaline phosphatase (ALP), Aspartate aminotransferase (AST), urea, and creatinine. Bromocriptine and cabergoline alone showed a noteworthy increase in the LDH-1, Troponin I, and TNF1 levels in the serum (p Conclusions The examination demonstrated that the combined use of sarpogrelate with bromocriptine or cabergoline decreased the potential adverse effects of these two drugs on the myocardial tissues.

Yield crops is a complex component depending on several grain filling traits. Knowledge of their relative contribution to grain yield determination under contrasting environments is essential to optimize grain yield and its stability. This study evaluates the changes resulting from durum wheat breeding in Morocco during the last three decades on grain filling rate (R) and duration (D), final grain weight (W), and days from sowing to anthesis (DSA). A set of six durum wheat varieties, released between 1984 and 2007, was grown in experiments conducted under contrasting environments during three growing seasons. The analysis of variance revealed that water regimes and growing seasons accounted for the largest percentages of variability for R, D, W, and DSA. D and DSA increased significantly over time under both water regimes. W exhibited an increasing trend under irrigated conditions, but a significant decline under rainfed ones. In contrast, the change of R was only significant under irrigated conditions. The path coefficient revealed that irrigated and rainfed conditions impacted differently the direct and indirect effects among traits with higher values of direct effects recorded under water-limited conditions. Within irrigated trials, R and D affected directly and positively grain yield. Regarding rainfed conditions, grain yield was only dependent on W. These findings indicate that genetic progress in grain filling traits and their direct and indirect effects on grain yield differed significantly between rainfed and irrigated conditions. Therefore, when selecting for high-yielding durum wheat genotypes, a particular attention should be paid to the environmental conditions.

The development of high-yielding durum wheat genotypes requires the knowledge of the genetic variation for grain yield and its components. This study was performed to determine genetic gain and to evaluate the genotype × environment effect for grain yield and related traits in Moroccan durum wheat. A historical series of varieties developed during the last three decades was grown under two water regimes (rainfed and irrigated) during three growing seasons. Traits evaluated in the present work included grain yield, spikes per m2, kernels per spike, spikelets per spike, kernels per spikelet, spike length, kernel weight, plant height, harvest index, and fertile tillering. Results from ANOVA analyses revealed that grain yield and related traits were controlled to a large extent by water regime and growing season. Grain yield advance per year was estimated in 78 kg ha−1 under irrigated conditions, with no significant change under rainfed ones. Overall, the results indicated that most of the yield components changed by breeding activities during the last three decades. AMMI and joint regression analyses revealed that intermediate varieties have a wide adaptation, and old varieties were specifically acclimated to water-limit environments, while modern varieties were performed only under favorable conditions.

Drought is one of the main environmental factors affecting grain yield and plant architecture in durum wheat. The present work was conducted to evaluate the contribution of morphological traits above flag leaf node on grain yield of six Moroccan durum wheat varieties released between 1984 and 2007 and grown under two water regimes (irrigated and rainfed) during the 2015–2016 crop season. The following morphological traits were measured at anthesis: Flag leaf length (FLL), flag leaf area (FLA), peduncle length (PL), spike length (SL), spike area (SA), and green leaf area (GLA). Days from sowing to anthesis (DSA) and grain-filling period (GFP) were recorded. In addition, grain yield per plant (GYP) was evaluated at maturity. Analysis of variance showed the greater effect of water stress in explaining total variability of the studied traits. Mean comparisons indicated that water deficit significantly affected GYP and all morphological traits; it shortened DSA and GFP by 4 and 7 days, respectively. Moreover, GYP, DSA, and GFP increased in modern varieties. In contrast, FLL, FLA, and PL were reduced from old to modern varieties. Under irrigated conditions, correlation studies revealed that GYP was positively associated to GLA. Regarding the rainfed trial, GYP was positively correlated to FLL. Additionally, negative relationships were found between GYP and DSA in both water regimes. Stepwise regression highlighted the relative importance of each morphological traits on the stress susceptibility index, FLL was the most consistent trait entered the model followed by PL and FLA. In this study, some morphological traits above flag leaf node proved to be useful tools to select for grain yield in water-limited environments.

Cultivated almond is an important nut crop commercially grown worldwide. The majority of research works carried out on almond fruit has been focused on chemical composition. However, fruit quality is defined by both chemical and physical characteristics, which are still not well documented. Here, we investigated gravimetrical traits of almond fruit in the five following cultivars: ‘Ferraduel’, ‘Ferragnes’, ‘Fournat de Brezenaud’, ‘Marcona’, and ‘Tuono’. The present study was carried out across three different sites in northern Morocco namely Aknoul, Bni Hadifa and Tahar Souk and over two harvest seasons (2015 and 2016). Gravimetrical measurements consisted in: In-hull weight, nut weight, kernel weight, hull percentage, shelling percentage, true density, bulk density, and porosity. The outcomes of ANOVA demonstrated that cultivar, site, harvest season, and their interactions affected significantly almost gravimetrical traits. In fact, hull percentage, kernel bulk density, and both nut true and bulk densities were mainly under genotypic dependency, while harvest season (climatic factor) was the main variability source in kernel weight. Furthermore, site (edaphic factor) was the most important in determining in-hull weight, nut weight, and kernel true density, while shelling percentage, and kernel and nut porosities were controlled jointly by genetic and edaphic factors. Wide variabilities were found between cultivars, sites, and harvest seasons for almost parameters as demonstrated by LSD’s test. Almond kernels from our cultivars were very small (cv. ‘Tuono’), small (cvs. ‘Ferraduel’, ‘Ferragnes’, and ‘Marcona’), and medium (cv. ‘Fournat de Brezenaud’). Furthermore, corresponding nuts were hard (cvs. ‘Fournat d Brezenaud’ and ‘Tuono’) to very hard shelled (cvs. ‘Ferraduel’, ‘Ferragnes’, and ‘Marcona’). Among sites, fruits harvested from Bni Hadifa performed better in terms of in-hull weight, nut weight, and kernel weight. Whereas, Tahar Souk had the greatest values of hull percentage and shelling percentage. Principal component analysis (PCA) allowed a good discrimination of cultivars, sites, and harvest seasons. The first component was of genetic order along which cultivars were separated, while the second and the third components exerted together an environmental control since they separated sites and harvest seasons, respectively. Significant correlations were highlighted among studied characteristics. The most important ones were modeled through simple regressions and therefore they can be used to predict each other.

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.

Paper description: Olive-growing activity has a great socio-economic importance in Morocco. The negative impact of climatic fluctuations affect young olive plants at a critical growth stage such as flowering. The research was conducted to study the physiological and biochemical responses to water stress in three Moroccan olive varieties at the flowering stage. Our results provide a better estimate of the water requirements of young olive trees. They should find use in good orchard management and improve olive production. Abstract: This study examines physiological and biochemical changes in three Moroccan varieties of young olive trees ( Olea europaea L.) grown under three different water regimes (control, moderate stress and severe stress). Leaf relative water content (RWC), water potential (y w ), transpiration rate (E), stomatal conductance (gs), maximum quantum efficiency of PSII (Fv/Fm), the contents of total chlorophyll (TCC), proline (ProC) and soluble sugars (SSC) were measured at the flowering stage during three growing seasons (2015, 2016 and 2017). ANOVA analyses showed that the effect of the water regime was predominant in all of the examined parameters, except for Fv/Fm, which was under the effect of both water regime and growing season. Impacts of variety and interactions were of lesser magnitude. Water deficit reduced E, y w and gs by 25%, while its effect on RWC and Fv/Fm was a decrease of about 7%; however, increases in SSC and ProC were more than 10%. Among the growing seasons, 2015 flowering displayed the lowest values for RWC, y w , E, gs, TCC and Fv/Fm, and the highest for ProC and SSC. Among plant varieties, no significant differences were observed. The three principal component (PC) axes accounted for 91% of total variance. PC1 was better explained by the water regime, while the growing season fitted PC3 variability. Correlation studies highlighted significant associations between most parameters. Positive relationships were found between RWC, y w , E, gs, Fv/Fm and TCC, while all of these parameters were negatively linked to ProC and SSC. https://doi.org/10.2298/ABS181001054E Received: October 1, 2018; Revised: November 23, 2018; Accepted: November 23, 2018; Published online: December 4, 2018; Published online: Decdember 4, 2018 How to cite this article: El Yamani M, Sakar EH, Boussakouran A, Rharrabti Y. Physiological and biochemical responses of young olive trees ( Olea europaea L.) to water stress during flowering. Arch Biol Sci. 2019;71(1):123-32.

Almond [Prunus dulcis (Mill.) D.A. Webb] is one of the most important nut crops worldwide. It requires chilling during winter to break dormancy and develop fruiting buds. However, late winter chilling and early spring frosts may damage the reproductive tissues leading to productivity reduction. In the present work, we evaluated the frost susceptibility by means of chlorophyll fluorescence in flower buds of almonds cultivated in two different sites in Morocco: Aknoul in the north and Sidi Bouhria in the east. Five widely grown almond cultivars, namely Marcona, Fournat de Brezenaud, Ferragnes, Ferraduel, and Tuono, were involved in this study. Flower buds were incubated in temperatures of –3, –2, –1, 0, and 25 °C during 24 h and thereafter the Fv/Fm ratio was measured at the ovary zone. Combined analysis of variance showed that cultivar was the major source of variability, while site and cultivar by site interaction effects were of lesser extent and explained together less than 20%. At 25 °C, all cu...

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.

The PAV, MAV, and RPV strains of barley yellow dwarf virus have been identified in west-central Morocco. The PAV strain occurred most commonly (56%) followed by the MAV (35%) and the RPV (9%) strains. The disease can reach epiphytotic conditions as illustrated by the 1986-87 growing season. Disease incidence was greatest during spring, and the virus and vectors oversummered•in maize and cereal volunteer plants. The aphid vector Rhopalosiphum padi was constantly present. Other aphid species were generally initially detected in February and could be detected as late as May. Evaluation of 16 grass species collected in the field and 17 species planted from seed showed that 16 and 15 of those tested were susceptible, respectively. Some of the susceptible gasses remained symptomless after inoculation.