Diversité agro-morphologique et gestion variétale par les agriculteurs du blé dur (Triticum turgidum ssp. durum) dans le Pré-Rif marocain

Durum wheat is a strategic crop in Morocco. Characterization and evaluation of cultivated varieties in different traditional agroecosystems allows safeguard and rehabilitation of this genetic heritage and its use in breeding programs. In this context, a collection of 59 traditional populations of durum wheat from the Pre-Rif region was studied using nine agro-morphological traits. Phenotypic diversity was determined by the Shannon-Weaver diversity index (H’) at different levels (totality of sample, by type of wheat and varietal names). Estimated H’ showed a wide genetic variability for different traits with a mean of H’=0.78. The results of the multiple correspondence analysis and hierarchical clustering showed a clear distinction between modern and traditional varieties. In traditional varieties, agro-morphological traits do not differentiate between varieties. The results of this work revealed the great phenotypic and nominative diversity of durum wheat varieties as well as the existence of homonyms and synonyms in the names given by farmers.