Open Access

ARTICLE

Investigating Drought Resilience in Fig Cultivars: A Comprehensive Study of Leaf Structural and Functional Characteristics

Nouha Haoudi^1,2, Lahcen Hssaini¹, Jamila Bahhou², Abderrahim Bentaibi¹, Hicham Aboumadane^1,2, Rachid Razouk^1,*

1 Fruit Trees and Vine Research Program, National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA), Regional Center of Meknes, P.O. Box 578, Meknes, 50000, Morocco
2 Laboratory of Biotechnology, Conservation and Valorisation of Natural Resources (LBCVNR), Faculty of Sciences Dhar El Mehraz, Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University, P.O. Box 1796, Atlas, Fez, 30003, Morocco

* Corresponding Author: Rachid Razouk. Email:

(This article belongs to the Special Issue: Vegetable Resources, Sustainable Plant Protection and Adaptation Strategies to Climate Change)

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany 2025, 94(6), 1857-1877. https://doi.org/10.32604/phyton.2025.065116

Received 04 March 2025; Accepted 04 June 2025; Issue published 27 June 2025

Abstract

This study was carried out to assess plasticity to drought of 30 adult fig cultivars, based on a screening of leaf structural and functional traits under sustained deficit irrigation, corresponding to 60% of crop evapotranspiration. All trees, three per cultivar, are planted in an ex-situ collection in Sais plain, northern Morocco. The measurements concerned leaf area, blade thickness, trichomes density, trichome hair length, stomatal density, stomatal dimensions, stomatal area index, chlorophyll concentration index, relative water content, stomatal conductance, leaf temperature, water loss in detached leaves, cuticular wax content, proline content, total phenolic compounds, and total soluble sugars. The ranking of cultivars regarding drought tolerance was established based on a two-level clustering approach, primarily relying on chlorophyll concentration index and secondarily on water status traits. Results showed significant genotypic variations for all measured traits, except phenolic compounds content. Correlations between structural and functional traits have pinpointed blade thickness and trichome hair length as the key indicators of fig drought tolerance, owing to their involvement in maintaining chlorophyll content under water stress conditions. The extent of the variations shows that fig leaf is endowed with a wide structural and functional diversity, which can give to the species potential for resilience to various environmental stresses, including drought. Among the cultivars assessed, two exotic varieties, “Kadota” and “Royal Blanck”, as well as four local cultivars, namely, “Ferqouch Jmel”, “El Qoti Labied”, “Hamra” and “Fassi” showed the highest drought plasticity level.

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Keywords

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