Evaluation of Moroccan autochthonous grapevine varieties diversity (Vitis vinefera L.) by linear morphometric traits of seeds and ampelometric traits of leaves

The cultivation of (Vitis vinifera L.) is well rooted in the traditions of the Maghrebian peasant populations in general and Moroccan in particular, it is the result of the ancient tradition of the cultivation of the vine in the country, which began in the Roman period. Grapevine varieties are characterized by significant variability in seed and leaf morphology, they are generally used to describe V. vinifera varieties.

The present study aims to evaluate the diversity of 27 autochthonous Moroccan grapevines, via the ampelometric and the linear morphometric traits. We sampled 270 grapevine seeds and 270 leaves belonging to the Moroccan varieties. The study is undertaken using 7 characters of linear morphometry. According to the leaves, 9 ampelometric traits were established following the OIV.

An ANOVA test is performed to highlight the most discriminating parameters. However, a principal component analysis (PCA) has allowed the morphometric parameters of the seeds to group the majority of the Middle and High Atlas varieties, while the parameters relating to the leaves have allowed the varieties from the Western Rif to be grouped. The results obtained from the different populations of seeds and leaves of autochthonous varieties of Morocco confirmed that the set of morphometric measurements used have an undeniable discriminating power and showed the presence of an important variability not only inter-varietal but also intra-varietal of the studied varieties. However, it has been inferred that seed and leaf parameters are weakly correlated, so it's important to carry out both complementary studies.