Phenological characterization among Moroccan ecotypes of cactus (Opuntia spp.) under soil and climatic conditions of the Chaouia-Ouardigha region [Caractérisation phénologique de différents écotypes de cactus (Opuntia spp.) Marocains sous les conditions édapho-climatiques de la région de Chaouia-Ouardigha]

Trough the green morocco plan (pmv) and national plan to combat desertification (pnlcd),the cactus (opuntia spp) cultivation has been developed. the areas occupied have tripled from almost 45 000ha in the beginning of 1990,to an estimated 150 000ha actually. the previous studies on cactus have been shown that this specie displays a high level of genetic diversity expressed in term of production,types of fruit and different stage of maturity. khnowing that the cactus germoplasm had a significant transfer in different parts of morocco to expand its agroclimatic area,it has become critical to develop scientific knowledge on this specie by identifying both its phenology and its performance under a particular agroclimatic conditions. so,the aim of this study is to characterize the phenologic behavior of moroccan cactus ecotypes and to examine their morphological variability within dominant species in morocco. the study was involved on seven cactus species represented by 126 ecotypes collected from different regions in morocco and installed in the experimental site of ain nzagh (inra of settat). the results obtained show that the studied ecotypes do not have the same phenologic behavior. in fact,9.5% of them revealed a continuously prolific nature and gave buds by different ages of spears (rm: mother spear,r1: spear of the first year,r2: spear of the second year,r3: spear of the third year). it is the ecotypes derived from opuntia ficus indica specie noted: « h2 » from zenata area,d2 from lagribat area,« g2 » from benismir area and for those noted « 113,e1,i2,h3,h1 » from rhamna and jbillette region. the same result was also observed for ecotypes belonging to opuntia megacantha specie and noted: « b1 » from sidi boumehdi area and « 111,112,113,k2 » from rhamna and jbillette region. these ecotypes may be considered as potentially interesting for an appropriate revegetation and for cactus production in marginal and less favoured areas. © 2016.