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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Contribution à la domestication de l'arganier pour la production de l'huile

subject

description

A survey conducted in 5 sites in the argan tree forest showed that argan oil represents an important part of the users' incomes. Nut-breaking is the most time-consuming and tedious step for the women involved in oil production. In 3 sites, the women were capable of distinguishing between those trees that yield nuts easy to break and trees yielding nuts difficult to break. These trees were named F and D, respectively. In each site, fruits were harvested from trees identified as F or D by the users, or at random. Those fruits were characterized by a set of measurements, including the force needed to break the nuts. Our measurements pointed out that the nuts harvested from F trees require a lower break force and have a thinner shell and a higher almond weight/nut weight ratio than the nuts harvested from D trees. These three parameters are proposed as a first basis for selecting argan trees for oil production purposes. The higher almond/nut ratio in F trees implies a higher oil yield than with D trees, for the same amount of nuts. Vegetative propagation of adult trees by cuttings allows selected phenotypes to be preserved in nurseries in the form of micro-mother trees from which mycorrhizal plants can be produced by vegetative propagation in order to set up orchards geared to the production of argan oil.