This review article delves into the intricate relationship between agroecology and water management, focusing on their mutual influence and proposing innovative strategies for achieving sustainable agriculture in North African countries. It provides a comprehensive overview of current agroecological practices and their impact on water availability, quality, and conservation. Addressing the challenges in traditional agricultural systems, this review highlights potential agroecological principles to enhance water sustainability. Furthermore, this review critically evaluates the existing literature on agroecological approaches to water management, including agroforestry, conservation agriculture, water-efficient irrigation, and landscape design. It presents new perspectives on integrating biodiversity for water regulation, leveraging ecosystem services for purification, and adopting advanced technologies, such as precision agriculture and remote sensing, for efficient water management. Additionally, this review explores policies and strategies for water management in agriculture in North African countries. This underscores the importance of aligning these policies with agroecological principles in order to promote sustainable water use and conservation. This review emphasizes the role of stakeholder engagement, robust policy frameworks, and economic incentives in promoting the widespread adoption of agroecological practices. By identifying the research gaps and proposing promising avenues for future research, this review contributes to the ongoing discourse on sustainable agriculture. This calls for interdisciplinary collaboration among agronomists, hydrologists, ecologists, policymakers, and local communities to develop holistic approaches that seamlessly integrate agroecology and modern water management, ensuring sustainable agricultural systems in the region.

The aim of this study was to investigate the adaptability of the Moroccan pomegranate cultivar ‘Sefri’ to varying environmental conditions across distinct regions in Morocco. Through a comprehensive analysis encompassing fruit production, fruit physical and biochemical quality, vegetative growth and photosynthetic activity, we elucidate the genotype–environment interactions that underpin the adaptability of ‘Sefri’ to three geographical regions; ‘Ain Taoujdate’, ‘Khemisset’, and ‘El Hajeb’. The results revealed that the highest fruit yield (> 50 kg tree−1) was observed in the ‘Khemisset’ station. However, the highest fruit weight, highest aril weight, and highest juice content were detected under the ‘Ain Taoujdate’ environmental conditions. Biochemically, the results induced that the fruits developed in the ‘El Hajeb’ station were characterized by the lowest total sugar (103.28 g GE l−1) and amino acids (2.46 mg GlyE l−1) compared to the fruits of the other stations. Furthermore, the highest values of the total polyphenols content and antioxidant activity were observed under ‘El Hajeb’ environmental conditions. In addition, a remarkable content of chlorophyll pigments was observed at the leaves of ‘Sefri’ at ‘Ain Taoujdate’ and ‘Khemisset’ stations, associated with a high leaf number and expanded leaf area. Conversely, the ‘El Hajeb’ station exhibited the lowest values for these traits, indicating stress conditions at this location. This inference was substantiated by elevated proline levels and heightened cuticular wax production, both recognized as indicative environmental stress indices. These results give us the opportunity to predict geographic regions that offer environmental conditions resembling those optimal for pomegranate cultivation. This may be useful for agriculture, species conservation, biodiversity, and natural resource management.

Chill and heat requirements are ranging from 336 to 522 CH, 645 to 1,046 CU, 37.5 to 55.93 CP and 6,618 to 9,673 GDH. The Santa Rosa cultivars, INRA-PR38 and INRA-PR40 could be considered the least sensitive to cold. The Stanley, Prune d’Ente, Monglobe and Fortune cultivars seem to be the most sensitive to cold. Correlations have been revealed between chill requirements, heat requirements and flowering dates. The date of endodormancy release and chill requirements of twenty-eight plum cultivars (Prunus domestica L. and Prunus salicina Lindl) growing in a collection at the experimental station of the National Institute of Agricultural Research of Meknes (Morocco) were determined according to three models namely the Chilling Hours model (in Chilling Hours, CH), the Utah model (in Chill Units, CU) and the Dynamic model (in Chill Portions, CP). In this regard, the forcing tests were conducted out on floral buds of all plum cultivars in order to follow the weight of buds in field and under controlled climate conditions. The heat requirements calculation was based on counting the Growing Hours Degree between the endodormancy release date determined by forcing tests and the flowering dates observed in field for each cultivar. Significant differences were revealed in chill and heat requirements between the plum cultivars studied, ranging from 336 to 522 CH, 645 to 1,046 CU, 37.5 to 55.93 CP and 6,618 to 9,673 GDH according to Chilling Hours, Utah, Dynamic and GDH models, respectively. In addition, the results showed great variability between cultivars according to their dormancy levels, ranging from low chill and heat cultivars (INRA-PR38, INRA-PR40 and Santa Rosa) to highest ones (Stanley, Prune d’Ente, Monglobe and Fortune), which generated differences in the dates of endodormancy release and flowering process. Correlations between chill requirements, heat requirements and flowering dates have been established since cultivars with low chill requirements (also low heat requirements) have earlier endodormancy release and flowering dates in comparison to those showed high chill requirements. The results obtained in this investigation constitute a basis to improve knowledge of the plum species cultivated under Moroccan climate conditions and make it possible to determine the most appropriate cultivation areas for these cultivars, given the current and future climate change.

Several researches reported that pomegranate adaptation was influenced by many factors related to environmental conditions and genotype. In this study, the influence of two contrasting climate conditions on pomegranate development and productivity was evaluated over two consecutive years (2021/2022). Yield, physical quality of fruits, vegetative growth, and physiological status of 'Sefri' and 'Marsi' (Moroccan cultivars) along with 'Wonderful' (American variety) were assessed and compared under low-temperature conditions and warm climates. The results showed significant varietal differences in nearly all measured response variables, except for the number of stomata per leaf. From the first season of experiment, fruit yield significantly decreased under the coldest climate conditions, with average reductions of 57%, 37%, and 35% in 'Sefri', 'Marsi', and 'Wonderful' cultivars, respectively. This decrease was associated with a significant reduction in arils’ physical quality, and juice content. Additionally, shoot length and leaf area decreased in Moroccan cultivars under colder environments in comparison to 'Wonderful' variety. Physiologically, leaves at high altitude areas had highest proline and cuticular wax content, as well as lowest concentration of chlorophyll pigments, when compared to warm conditions. Based on these results, 'Wonderful' variety was found to be more tolerant to low-temperature environments than Moroccan cultivars, experiencing lowest decline in potential production and vegetative growth. These findings suggest that the variation in low-temperature tolerance among the studied pomegranate genotypes can be utilized in breeding programs and for selecting pomegranate cultivars suitable for neighboring Moroccan regions with colder climates.

This study is aimed at identifying the dates at which dormancy is released and flowering begins, and to measure the agroclimatic requirements (chill and heat) of four plum cultivars grown in two contrasting climatic zones, namely "Annoceur" (cold winter) and "Ain Taoujdate" (mild winter). These agroclimatic requirements were determined using three models for determining chilling requirements, namely the refrigeration hours model (CH), the Utah model (CU) and the dynamic model (CP), and the accumulated heat requirements were calculated using the GDH model. The forcing test was conducted on the flower buds of the four plum varieties in ordered conditions to monitor bud weight in the field and controlled environment to determine the date at which dormancy was released. Major differences have been found in agroclimatic requirements among the different sites and plum varieties. Chill requirements vary between 314 and 676 (CH), 679 and 998 (CU), 41.91 and 59.62 (CP), and 6576 and 9776 (GDH) according to the models used. The dormancy release date was earlier, and the chill requirements were met earlier at "Annoceur" than at "Ain Taoujdate." The results also revealed considerable differences among varieties depending on their level of agroclimatic requirements, ranging from varieties with low agroclimatic requirements, such as "Methley," to very demanding varieties, such as "Stanley" and "Fortune," which translate into various dates for the release of dormancy and flowering. Understanding the agroclimatic requirements of varieties grown in contrasting sites is of paramount importance to enable farmers to foresee the productivity of future orchards for better planning and design new areas that take on board the reduction in winter cold due to global warming in many regions.

The purpose of this research was to evaluate the effect of thermal conditions on pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) yield, and fruits’ physical and biochemical traits. The impact of thermal conditions was assessed by studying the variations in these properties across three different pomegranate genotypes grown under two contrasting climates. The first is the ‘Ain Taoujdate’ station with a warm climate (control) and the second is the ‘Anouceur’ station with low-temperature conditions. The obtained data showed that the low-temperature stress has a statistically significant effect on yield components and juice quality attributes. The variation of the analyzed parameters varied depending on the cultivars tested with divergent amplitude variations in each experimental year. In the first year of the experiment, a significant reduction of the pomegranate yield was detected, with a respective average of 35

Pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) is a popular fruit crop known for its nutritional and health benefits. However, water scarcity in many regions of the world has necessitated the adoption of specific strategies to conserve water resources. This study aimed to investigate the impact of continuous deficit irrigation (CDI) on the chemical and biochemical traits of two pomegranate cultivars (cv. Sefri and cv. Wonderful) to assess their response to water stress and their potential adaptability to limited water availability. Therefore, during the developmental cycle of the pomegranate, three irrigation treatments were implemented: a control treatment in which irrigation was applied to fully satisfy crop evapotranspiration (100

Abstract This study aimed to evaluate the influence of the association between faba bean and cereal crops on the incidence and severity of black aphids, weed control, and faba bean yield in Meknes region, Morocco. Regression and correlation analyses were performed to examine the relationship between different parameters. The results showed that the combination of faba bean with cereals significantly reduced black aphid infestation, weed density, and biomass compared to faba bean alone. The present study also revealed a positive correlation between reduced aphid incidence and improved faba bean yield. Analyses also revealed significant correlations between weed density and aphid incidence/severity as well as notable associations between faba bean crop biomass, weed biomass, and faba bean yield. These findings underscore the importance of crop associations in enhancing the resilience and productivity of faba beans through integrated aphid and weed management. They highlight the complexity of the interactions between aphids, weeds, and faba bean crops, requiring a holistic approach to understand their impact on crop yield.

Several research studies have revealed the potential of pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) as a viable alternative in addressing the impacts of climate change on the geographical distribution of fruit trees within semi-arid regions. Nevertheless, the pomegranate adaptation in these areas was influenced by many factors, such as the chilling requirements and the genotype-specific responses. In this research, the geographical distribution of the pomegranate under Moroccan conditions was studied using the Maxent model based on collected presence data of the GBIF database combined with bioclimatic variables available in WorldClim. Thus, the adaptability of two Moroccan cultivars (‘Sefri’ and ‘Marsi’) and an American variety ‘Wonderful’ under two contrasting climates was evaluated. The first is the ‘Ain Taoujdate’ station with a warm climate (control) and the second is the ‘Anouceur’ station with low-temperature conditions. The results revealed the area under the receiver operating curve (AUC) produced by the maximum entropy (Maxent) under various bioclimatic conditions was greater than 0.96, indicating excellent model accuracy. The precipitation, elevation, and mean temperature of the warmest quarter were the environmental variables that influenced the pomegranate distribution. However, in the experimental part, the results induced a significant reduction of the fruit yield in the first experimental year under the coldest conditions with an average of 35

This study assessed the effect of climatic conditions on the production and phenological traits of four plum cultivars (Prunus salicina L. and Prunus domestica L.) grafted on ‘Myrobolan’ rootstock planted in two contrasting experimental zones at INRA Meknes, namely ‘Ain Taoujdate’ in the Saïs plain and ‘Annoceur’ in the foothills of the Middle Atlas, during two consecutive years, 2019–2020 and 2020–2021. Observations were made on production and phenological traits, including flowering and bud burst rates and twigs reserves (total soluble solids ‘TSS’, soluble sugars content ‘SSC’ and amino acids content ‘AAC’) during the dormancy and budburst phases. The results showed that the effect of the climate factor varies according to cultivar and site. Yields expressed by tree fruit load and fruit weight were reduced as a result of the climate, with overall averages of 34

This study explored the allelopathic potential of sorghum, rapeseed, and oat extracts at various concentrations on wild mustard and faba bean seeds. The chemical composition of these extracts, including flavonoids, terpenes, and phenolic compounds, was analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively. Wild mustard seeds showed significant susceptibility to aqueous extracts, with complete suppression of germination observed at concentrations of 75% and 100% (v/v). Conversely, the germination rate of faba bean remained largely unaffected, whereas root and shoot lengths exhibited differential responses based on the concentration and specific plant extract. Notably, certain treatments, particularly rapeseed (at 75%) and rapeseed-sorghum combinations (at 50% and 75%), inhibited wild mustard germination and stimulated radicle and hypocotyl growth in faba beans. This differential reactivity suggests the potential of faba beans as an alternative to weed management in its cultivation. Overall, aqueous extracts from sorghum, rapeseed, and oats displayed significant phytotoxic effects on wild mustard, while inducing varied responses in faba bean seeds. These findings underscore the promise of these extracts as eco-friendly alternatives for weed management in faba bean crops, warranting further exploration and optimization of sustainable agricultural practices.

There are no established studies investigating the impact of drought stress tolerance on plum’s performance (Prunus salicina L.) in Morocco. This study aimed to assess the effect of sustained deficit irrigation (SDI) on the yield and physiological traits of plums during the fruit development period in the Sais plain, northern Morocco. Eleven plum cultivars were planted in an ex-situ collection at the experimental station of the National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA) of Morocco, were assessed for two consecutive years for their tolerance to water stress of 50

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the drought response of eleven pomegranate cultivars during two consecutive years (2020–2021) by assessing their response to severe water stress. Irrigation treatments consisted of a control treatment irrigated at 100

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected various sectors, including agriculture. This study aimed to explore the perceptions of smallholder farmers in Morocco's Fez-Meknes and Marrakesh-Safi regions regarding the potential effects of the pandemic on agricultural systems and the adoption of agroecological practices during the lockdown. The findings showed that farmers implemented diverse agroecological practices such as intercropping, organic fertilization, and local seed usage. However, the pandemic negatively affected the regular course of ag-ricultural practices of 51.6% of the participants. The majority expressed concerns about market closures, labor availability, access to agricultural materials, and fertilizers. Farmers with more than two hectares of land were the most affected and less likely to embrace agroecological practices, whereas those with less than two hectares continuously adopted these practices and were less affected by COVID-19. Although 54.7% of the respondents reported no changes in their dependence on agroecological practices, 41.1% indicated that this dependency increased after the COVID-19 crisis. Understanding farmers' behavior during the pandemic can inform future agricultural policies that prioritize healthy and sustainable food production. This study underscores the importance of investing in agriculture and building resilience to ensure sustainable food systems in the face of future crises.

Climate change and water scarcity are the most important factors that affect crop production in dry areas. Sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) is a very ancient oilseed crop cultivated in arid and semi-arid regions and therefore its productivity is limited under drought conditions, which makes the selection and development of droughttolerant cultivars imperative. This study aims to evaluate the responses to drought stress of eleven M4 sesame mutants, in addition to their two wild-type parents, cultivated in two contrasting environments. Drought stress was applied, under field conditions, by reducing the amount of irrigation water supplied by half, compared to the control. Physiological traits and various drought indices were measured/calculated. All data were subjected to analysis of variance and unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean (UPGMA) to classify genotypes as drought sensitive or drought tolerant. Significant variations among genotypes were observed in their reactions to water regimes and environments. Overall, under water stress, proline content and stomatal resistance significantly increased, while chlorophyll content, seed yield, and relative water content significantly decreased in stressed plants. Drought indices revealed substantial differences among genotypes, with tolerant ones showing the best scores. Furthermore, correlation analysis demonstrated significant associations between physiological traits and drought indices. In light of all the traits/indices investigated, the mutant 'US1-2' was found to be very drought-sensitive, although it performed best under full-irrigation conditions. In contrast, the mutant lines 'ML237' and 'ML2-37' proved to be highly drought-tolerant and, therefore, they can be handled as an elite germplasm for the development of resilient cultivars adapted to arid and semi-arid regions where irrigation water is a limiting factor. This work constitutes a significant contribution to research on sesame drought tolerance and offers promising prospects for this crop in the context of global climate change.

Pomegranate trees are known for their ability to withstand drought conditions, but there is still much to learn about how water stress affects the lipobiochemical behavior of their seeds. This study aimed to investigate how sustained deficit irrigation (SDI-50), equivalent to 50% of crop evapotranspiration, influences pomegranate seed oil attributes such as phenols, flavonoids, and tannins content, and the seeds' lipochemical fingerprints compared to fully irrigated trees. At the full ripening stage, pomegranate seeds were analyzed for their oil content, biochemical traits, and vibrational fingerprints using infrared radiation. The results indicated that there was a significant genotypic effect coupled with applied water stress on all the investigated traits. Interestingly, an increasing trend in seed oil yield was observed under water stress conditions compared to the control, with the highest oil yield increase observed in the 'Zheri Precoce' fruit seeds. Only two cultivars did not show the same pattern, with the oil yield increase ranging from 8% to 100%. Furthermore, SDI-50 induced a substantial increase in total phenolic content, coupled with a significant genotypic effect, and resulted in an average increase of 7.5%. This increase in total phenolics also correlated with an increase in antioxidant activity across all investigated cultivars. ATR-FTIR fingerprinting revealed eleven spectral fingerprints corresponding to functional groups present in pomegranate seeds oil, with a particular pattern of significant effects of both genotypic and SDI-50 factors. These results suggest that exploiting water scarcity conditions could be a viable approach to improve the quantitative and qualitative attributes of pomegranate seed oil. While there are still several aspects to be investigated further, this study provides a basis for pomegranate processing under water shortage conditions.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the genetic diversity among 36 wild strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo L.) genotypes belonging to different altitude and geographical origins, using 16 ISSR (Inter Simple Sequence Repeats) markers.Results revealed that ISSR primers produced a total of 344 bands, of which 94.1% were polymorphic, indicating a high level of genetic variation among the studied populations.The mean values of polymorphism information content (PIC), efective multiplex ratio (EMR), resolving power (Rp) and marker index (MI) were 0.34, 19.13, 23.46 and 6.45, respectively.The total gene diversity (Ht), gene diversity within populations (Hs) and total genetic differentiation coefficient among the populations (Gst) values were 0.33, 0.15 and 0.50, respectively.The genetic distance between all pairwise combinations of the genotypes ranged from 0.113 to 0.512.The cluster analysis revealed three main groups and which are subdivided into eight subgroups and a two independant branches.Therefore, the grouping of strawberry tree genotypes was independent of their geographical origins and altitude with exception for the genotypes belonging to Bin El-ouidane and Laanoucer populations.The results showed that ISSR markers are suitable tools for the evaluation of genetic diversity among strawberry tree genotypes.The data of this work will be useful for strawberry tree breeding programs and conservation strategies.

The interest of this work is to appreciate the plasticity of tolerance and adaptability to high temperatures by analyzing the production, growth, physiology and fruit quality traits of the plum variety ‘Angelino’ (Prunus salicina L.). The experiment was conducted in 2021 on fourteen-year-old trees under drip irrigation installed at National Institute for Agronomic Research located in the Sais plain (northern Morocco). Two heat treatments were applied: a control treatment (the external temperature of the experimental station) in which the trees received the field temperature (C) and a heat treatment in which the trees received a temperature of + 2.5 °C (S). The adaptability of plum trees to heat stress was assessed by analyzing several traits including agro-physiological growth and some plum quality traits. The results showed significant differences in response to heat stress for all traits analyzed. The production traits were regressed with an overall mean of 30

This work investigates the relationships between leaf traits and olive response to water stress through two complementary field experiments in order to screen genotypes for drought tolerance. The first experiment consisted of the phenotyping of 32 olive varieties for 11 leaf morpho-physiological traits during a fruit set phase under well-watered conditions. In the second experiment, the yield and vegetative responses of five representative varieties to the withholding of irrigation during the whole fruit growth period were assessed to identify leaf traits that are associated with olive resilience plasticity and that could be used as drought tolerance markers. The results highlighted large phenotypic variability for leaf area (LA, 2.9–9.5 cm2), petiole elasticity (8.0–36.0°), water loss in detached leaves (WLDL, 3.6–11.6%), stomatal density (222.6–470.1 no mm−2), stomatal length (11.4–18.7 µm), trichome density (120.5–204.4 no mm−2), trichome width (103.6–183.4 µm), leaf contents in cuticular wax (CWC, 44.7–606.2 µg cm−2), and soluble sugars (SSC, 15.8–536.9 mg gdw−1). Among these leaf traits, WLDL displayed a significant correlation with the yield stability index (r = −0.973) and water use efficiency (r = −0.939), suggesting its use as relevant drought tolerance phenotypic marker. Likewise, LA, SSC, and CWC were singled out as second-level drought tolerance markers, being strongly correlated with stability of leaf size and leafing intensity in response to water stress. Cluster analysis highlighted 12 distinct levels of drought tolerance within the studied olive collection. Based on the four identified phenotypic markers, “Lechin de Sevilla” alongside “Picholine Marocaine” were found to be the most drought-tolerant varieties, while Frantoio was the most sensitive. This study provides the first, unprecedented, insights into the usefulness of leaf phenotyping in olive drought tolerance screening, with a focus on structural and functional leaf traits.