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From domestication to varietal improvement of the argan tree (Argania spinosa L. Skeels)?
Science et changements planétaires / Sécheresse. Volume 21, Number 1, 42-53, janvier-février-mars 2010, Article de recherche
Résumé Article gratuit
Author(s) : Ronald Bellefontaine
Summary : Over the past few years knowledge has increased about the various modes of regeneration of the argan tree, signalling real possibilities of rejuvenating aging Moroccan argan forests. Sexual reproduction and, especially, vegetative multiplication have recently advanced substantially. The latter approach makes it possible to clone the “plus trees” often hundreds of years old and selected by the rural populations. Asexual multiplication also opens the door to implementing better conservation and management strategies for the widescale genetic diversity of argan trees. Plantations in Morocco as well as in countries of similar climate could be increased. Clearly concerned are countries like Algeria, where the argan tree grows naturally, Spain, where it is sub-spontaneous, and other countries with mediterranean coastal climates remaining above freezing. As the argan tree is a multi-productive cultivated ecosystem, the main selection criteria suggested herein take the two main argan products into account: oil and goat herding. The recent progress presented in this article makes it possible to foresee domestication of the argan tree and the creation of cloned orchards in the near future. Private or domanial plantations, aided by cuttings producing dense adventitious rooting, announce the possibility of rest-rotation grazing against herds of goats and thus better acceptance of future plantations by rural populations.
Keywords : Argania spinosa, domestication, forestry, vegetative multiplication, sexual regeneration

From domestication to varietal improvement of the argan tree (Argania spinosa L. Skeels)?