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Characterisation of bitter vetch (Vicia ervilia (L.) Willd) ecotypes: An ancient and promising legume

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 September 2024

Soumaya Boukrouh Open the ORCID record for Soumaya Boukrouh [Opens in a new window] ,
Ali Noutfia Open the ORCID record for Ali Noutfia [Opens in a new window] ,
Nassim Moula Open the ORCID record for Nassim Moula [Opens in a new window] ,
Claire Avril ,
Julien Louvieaux Open the ORCID record for Julien Louvieaux [Opens in a new window] ,
Jean-Luc Hornick Open the ORCID record for Jean-Luc Hornick [Opens in a new window] ,
Mouad Chentouf Open the ORCID record for Mouad Chentouf [Opens in a new window]  and
Jean-François Cabaraux Open the ORCID record for Jean-François Cabaraux [Opens in a new window]
Soumaya Boukrouh*
Affiliation:
Department of Veterinary Management of Animal Resources, FARAH centre, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium Regional Center of Agricultural Research of Tangier, National Institute of Agricultural Research, Rabat, Morocco
Ali Noutfia
Affiliation:
Regional Center of Agricultural Research of Tangier, National Institute of Agricultural Research, Rabat, Morocco
Nassim Moula
Affiliation:
Department of Veterinary Management of Animal Resources, FARAH centre, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium
Claire Avril
Affiliation:
Haute École Provinciale de Hainaut Condorcet, Ath, Belgium
Julien Louvieaux
Affiliation:
Haute École Provinciale de Hainaut Condorcet, Ath, Belgium
Jean-Luc Hornick
Affiliation:
Department of Veterinary Management of Animal Resources, FARAH centre, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium
Mouad Chentouf
Affiliation:
Regional Center of Agricultural Research of Tangier, National Institute of Agricultural Research, Rabat, Morocco
Jean-François Cabaraux*
Affiliation:
Department of Veterinary Management of Animal Resources, FARAH centre, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium
*
Corresponding authors: Soumaya Boukrouh; Email: [email protected]; Jean-François Cabaraux; Email: [email protected]
Corresponding authors: Soumaya Boukrouh; Email: [email protected]; Jean-François Cabaraux; Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

Bitter vetch (Vicia ervilia (L.) Willd) is a promising legume, drought tolerant, mainly used in the Mediterranean area for its grains as a source of proteins in animal feed. However, it is an underused crop cultivated in marginal soils. Ecological, agro-morphological, and bromatological diversity evaluations were conducted to study its reintroduction potential. Seeds of seventeen ecotypes were collected in seventeen farms located in Northern Morocco in 2018. The cultivation was realised during the 2019 and 2020 growing seasons using a randomised complete block design with three replicates. Agro-morphological data were collected at the start of flowering, full flowering, and pod setting phenological stages. Yield component assessment and grain and straw bromatological characterisation were performed at maturity. The results indicated significant variations between ecotypes for almost all parameters and interesting results about yield (1 t ha–1) but lower protein content (22.9% of dry matter) compared to other ecotypes of the Mediterranean region. The estimated genetic parameters could emphasise the possibility of selecting highly productive and nutritive cultivars. However, interannual variations were also detected, making the selection of the ecotypes harder. No significant correlations were observed between agro-morphological and bromatological traits of grains and geographical distances. Multivariate analyses (principal component analysis and heatmap) clustered ecotypes into five groups, where the ecotypes included in the second cluster were the most interesting candidates for developing high-yielding and nutritive varieties. That is why this plant could be considered of interest, especially in these times of climate change.

Keywords

agro-morphologybromatologyphenologygenetic variabilityVicia ervilia (L.) Willd
Type
Research Article
Information
Experimental Agriculture , Volume 60 , 2024 , e19
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press

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