@Article{phyton.2025.065116,
AUTHOR = {Nouha Haoudi, Lahcen Hssaini, Jamila Bahhou, Abderrahim Bentaibi, Hicham Aboumadane, Rachid Razouk},
TITLE = {Investigating Drought Resilience in Fig Cultivars: A Comprehensive Study of Leaf Structural and Functional Characteristics},
JOURNAL = {Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany},
VOLUME = {94},
YEAR = {2025},
NUMBER = {6},
PAGES = {1857--1877},
URL = {http://www.techscience.com/phyton/v94n6/62656},
ISSN = {1851-5657},
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 <i>ex-situ</i> 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.},
DOI = {10.32604/phyton.2025.065116}
}