MORPHOLOGICAL CHARACTERIZATION AND OIL CONTENT OF THE NEW ARGAN TREE VARIETY (Argania spinosa L. SKEELS) CHOUIHIYA: A VARIETY SUITED TO SUPER-INTENSIVE ARGAN CULTIVATION

Abstract

Arganiculture, or the intensive cultivation of argan trees in modern orchards, is emerging as a key strategy for sustaining the production of this endemic species in the face of climatic and anthropogenic pressures. This method of cultivation aims to conserve biodiversity, promote resource management, and foster local economic development. In order to ensure the development of this sector, it is considered necessary to adopt an integrated and multidimensional approach, starting with varietal selection. This crucial step aims to identify and multiply genotypes with interesting agronomic traits such as tolerance to abiotic stress, yield, and fruit and oil quality. This work presents the Chouihiya argan tree variety, one of the first varieties officially listed in the National Office for Food Safety's (ONSSA) catalog on List C of species and varieties of plants that can be cultivated in Morocco. This variety was selected at the Faculty of Sciences in Oujda (FSO). Morphometric and biochemical data show that Chouihiya is characterized by a reduced size and satisfactory production. It also has particularly high oil content (53.85%). In arganiculture, the selected variety could be proposed in a super-intensive system with very high densities, given that the canopy spread does not exceed 4 to 5 meters.