A. OUJI ^1,4*

S. El-BOK ²

N. OMRI BEN YOUSSEF ³

M. ROUAISSI ⁴

M. MOUELHI ³

M. BEN YOUNES ¹

M. KHARRAT ³

¹Regional Research Development Office of Agriculture in Semi Arid North West of Kef, 7100 Kef, Tunisia

²Laboratory of Biodiversity, Climate Change and Biotechnology, Faculty of Sciences of Tunis, Tunis El Manar University, 2092 Tunis, Tunisia.

³Field Crop’s Laboratory, National Institute for Agricultural Research of Tunisia, Ariana, Tunisia

⁴Biotechnology and Physiology Laboratory, National Institute for Agricultural Research of Tunisia, Ariana, Tunisia

Abstract - In Tunisia lentil (Lens culinaris L.) which is an annual grain legume, is included in cropping systems throughout the semiarid region but information on optimum plant population density was not well developed for this region. This study was conducted in kef (Northwest Semi-Arid region of Tunisia) in order to determine the impact of row spacing and seeding rate on yield and yield components of lentil. ‘Siliana’ lentil cultivar was sown at 17 and 34cm cm row spacing, and at three seeding rates (80, 120, 160 seeds/m²). Analysis of variance showed that the effect of row spacing, plant seeding rates and interaction between them was significant on all traits show that was significant on all measured parameters except for 100- seed weight. Results show that 34cm row spacing and seed rate of 120 seeds/m² was found to be the best for lentil production in terms of biological and grain yields with 2119,2 and 903,9 kg/ha respectively. On the other hand, 17cm row spacing and 160seeds/m² affects negatively the yields and components.

Keywords: Lentil, Lens culinaris L, row spacing, seedling rate, yield, yield components.

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Bibliographic Review

I. Hannachi ¹* 

R. Ben Slimen ² 

S. Rezgui ³

¹Laboratory of Plant Pathology, National Institute of Agronomy of Tunisia, Av Charles Nicolle 43, 1082 Tunis, Tunisia.

²Plant breeding laboratory, National Institute of Agronomy of Tunisia, 43 avenue Charles Nicolles, 1082 Tunis, Tunisia.

³Department of Agronomy and Biotechnology, National Agronomic Institute of Tunisia, Av Charles Nicolle 43, 1082 Tunis, Tunisia.

Abstract - Fusarium oxysporum pathogens cause severe wilts in about 80 botanical species. During last cropping season several crops were infected by Fusarium wilt disease in Tunisia. Pathogenic strains are regarded as specialized parasite of a limited host range and are grouped into forma specialis, races and vegetative compatibility groups (VCGs) depending on plant species. Describing the main approaches developed to identify different pathogenic strains and the major molecular tools used to identify the different Fusarium oxysporum forms could be of valuable assistance to farmers and promote new control measures to limit the effect of this disease especially for development country.

 Keywords: Forma specialis; races; VCGs; pathogenicity.

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A.M. Oueslati ^1,2*

G. Rigane ^3,4

H. Ghazghazi ⁵

R. Ben Salem ³ 

S. Hamdi ⁶

M. Hannachi ⁶

H. Jouili ²

Y. L’ammari ²

¹ Laboratory of lipids Biochemistry, Faculty of Sciences of Tunis, El Manar 2090,Tunis- -Tunisia.

² Laboratory of forest Ecology , National institute of research in Rural engineering, water and forests (INRGREF) of Tunis. Tunisia

³Laboratory of organic chemistry and physics ,UR11ES74, Faculty of Sciences of Sfax, University of Sfax, B.P 1171, 3038 Sfax, Tunisia.

⁴ Department of Physics & Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences and Technology of Sidi Bouzid , B. P 380, 9100, Sidi Bouzid, University of Kairouan, Tunisia.

⁵ Laboratory of management and valorization of Forest Resources National institute of research in Rural engeneering, water and forests (INRGREF) of Tunis. Tunisia

⁶ High institute of Biotechnology of Béja , Avenue Habib Bourguiba Béja 9000, BP: 382, Béja-Tunisia

Abstract - Phenolic compounds make up one of the major families of secondary metabolites widely distributed in the plant kingdom, and they are found in foods of vegetable origin, constituting an integral part of our daily diet and in wild species as the major bioactive components that has shown to exhibit anti-carcinogenic, anti-microbial, antioxidant and anti-viral activities. The present work is devoted to the study of antiradical and antimicrobial activities of aqueous and organic extracts (Ethanol 70%) of Trachyspermum ammi (T.ammi) aerial parts. In order to compare its antioxidant activities, samples were extracted with 100% water or 70% ethanol. Their total phenolic content (TPC), flavonoid (TFC) and condensed tannin (CT) contents as well as DPPH and ABTS assays were measured. In addition, the antibacterial and antifungal activities of all extracts were also investigated against six human pathogenic bacteria and one fungal strain (Candida albicans). Our result has shown that, aqueous extract has demonstrated the best concentration in TPC (162.17 mg GAE.g^-1 dw) and TFC (91.22 mg RE.g^-1 dw) as compared to the ethanolic fraction. However, no significant difference (p>0.05) was observed in term of condensed tannin content (14.85 vs 14.23 mg CE.g^-1 dw). Furthermore, the aqueous extract has shown the best antioxidant activity with IC₅₀ values of 4.26 and 4.89 µg.ml^-1 for ABTS and DPPH assays, respectively. The assessment of antimicrobial activity has shown that the remarkable inhibition of the bacterial and fungi growth was observed almost against all strains notably for the ethanolic extract for which all tested microbial strains was highly sensitive with an inhibition zone that significantly exceed that of the antibiotic tested under the same conditions. The results of our current study has demonstrated that extracts from T.ammi aerial parts can be used as a practical food additive or preservative in various food products and as a potential source of antimicrobial components.

Keywords: Antimicrobial activity, Flavonoids, Free radicals, Organic extract, polyphenols, Trachyspermum ammi aerial parts, Condensed tannin.

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T. Triki

F. Guasmi

S. Ben Ali

M. Ben Mohamed

S. Drine

H. Yahya

K. Nagaz

A. Ferchichi

Institut de Régions Arides, Route El Djorf Km 22.5, 4119, Mednine.

Abstract - The peculiarity of quinoa is that it is a seed consumed as a cereal. In general, the food is cooked or reduced to flour. From the nutritional point of view, quinoa brings much energy that the food similarly used, such as beans, rice, corn or wheat. It is also an important source of quality protein, fiber, fatty acids and mineral salts. However, it should be part of a healthful meal with many other types of foods to eat properly. The contents of macronutrients (carbohydrates, fats and proteins) of quinoa compared with other foods are very remarkable. The present work is a kind of biochemical characterization such as carbohydrate, lipid, protein, and chlorophyll and carotenoid five quinoa cultivars. The synthesis of lipid, carbohydrate and protein in the seed reaches the highest average in five cultivars are respectively of the order of 1.30 ± 0.013, 89.95 ± 1.01 and 17.84 ± 0.018 g / 100 g DM. At the aerial part the largest average rate of chlorophyll and carotenoid is respectively about 1.62 mg / g and 172.83 ± 0.49 mg / kg ± 1.79.

Keywords: carbohydrate, lipid, protein, chlorophyll, carotenoid, characterization and chénopoduim quinoa.

Résumé - La particularité du quinoa (chénopoduim quinoa Wild.) tient au fait qu’il s’agit d’une graine consommée comme une céréale. En général, cet aliment est cuit ou bien réduit en une farine. Du point de vue nutritionnel, le quinoa apporte autant d’énergie que les aliments utilisés de façon similaire, comme les haricots, le riz, le maïs ou le blé. Il est en outre une source importante de protéines de qualité, de fibres alimentaires, d’acides gras et de sels minéraux. Toutefois, il convient de l’intégrer à un repas équilibré comportant de nombreux autres types d’aliments afin de se nourrir convenablement. Les teneurs en macronutriments (glucides, lipides et protéines) du quinoa par rapport à d’autres aliments est très remarquables. Le travail actuel est une sorte de caractérisation biochimique telle que le glucide, le lipide, la protéine, la chlorophylle et le caroténoïde de cinq cultivars de quinoa. La synthèse de lipide, glucide et protéine au niveau du graine atteint le taux moyen le plus élevé chez les cinq cultivars, qui varie entre et 17.84 ±0.018 et 89.95 g/100g de MS. Au niveau aérien le taux moyen le plus important de chlorophylle et de caroténoïde est respectivement de l’ordre de 1.62 mg/g ±0.49 et 172.83 mg/Kg ±1.79.

Mots clés : Chénopoduim quinoa, glucide, lipide, protéine, chlorophylle, caroténoïde.

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M. Ben Abdellatif ^{1, 2*}

M. Neffati ²

A. Ouled Belgacem ^{2, 3}

¹ National Agronomic Institute of Tunisia, 43 Avenue Charles Nicolle, 1082 Mahrajène City, Tunis

² Laboratory of rangelands ecology the Arid Regions Institute (IRA) Medenine , djorf km 22 Médenine 4119, Tunisia

³ International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas - P.O. Box 13979 Dubai UAE  

Abstract - This study was carried out at the communal rangelands of Dhahar, Saharan area of Southern Tunisia, to assess the impact of restoration and rehabilitation techniques on natural vegetation cover. Two rangeland types (Rhanterium suaveolens and Anthyllis sericea) were subjected to three management modes: two years rest (M), reseeding Stipagrostis pungens (S) and free grazing (T). In all plots, total plant cover, species richness and grass density where determined in spring 2008. Results showed that despite the negative effect of drought, considerable and positive effects of protection and at lesser degree of reseeding on all scored parameters. This is an indication that when degradation is still reversible, restoration techniques are more effective in addition to their low costs. However, the good establishment of S. pungens seedlings may encourage the recourse to the rehabilitation technique by reintroducing some promoting native Saharan species when ecosystems loose their resilience capacities.

Keywords: Restoration, Rehabilitation, Communal rangelands, Saharan area, Tunisia.

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R REKIK ¹

F. CHIBANI ²

R. MZID ¹

E. BABAY ¹

M. HANANA ¹

H. BEN GHANEM ³

A. NAJAR ^3*

¹ Laboratoire de Physiologie Moléculaire des Plantes (LPMP). Centre de Biotechnologie de Borj Cédria (CBBC). BP 901, Hammam-lif 2050, Tunisie.

² Laboratoire des Plantes Extrémophiles (LPE). Centre de Biotechnologie de Borj Cédria (CBBC). BP 901, Hammam-lif 2050, Tunisie.

³ Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique de Tunisie (INRAT), Rue Hédi Karray, 2049 Ariana.

Abstract - Seaking for new varieties with high agronomical potential is a major concern for breeders. Practically, the introduction of a new variety at the farmer level requires germplasm evaluation in order to get the necessary informations about its identification. In this context, the aim of our study is to characterize using biochemical (protein and sugar contents) and physiological (behavior against salinity and drought) bases, describe and finally identify interesting barley lines, in comparison with two control varieties (Manel and Rihane). The analysis of the different studied parameters shows a significant diversity among lines, although they could be somehow very close within some characters. However, when considering the whole descriptive parameters, it appears that L6 line is highly performant at several levels including its soluble sugars (4 µg/mg MS), starch (143 µg/mg de MS), nitrogen and protein contents, but also its behavior with regard to salt and water stresses.

Keywords: Barley, Salt stress, Drought stress, Soluble sugar content, Starch, Germination, Hordein.

Résumé - La recherche de nouvelles variétés à haut potentiel agronomique constitue pour le sélectionneur une préoccupation constante. Dans la pratique, le lancement d’une variété à l’échelle de l’agriculteur nécessite un pré-requis d’évaluation du matériel génétique concerné afin de le doter de toute information qui puisse l’identifier. Dans ce contexte, l’objectif de notre étude consiste à caractériser sur des bases biochimiques (teneurs en protéines et sucres) et physiologiques (comportement vis-à-vis des stress salin et hydrique) de nouvelles lignées d’orge prometteuses issues d’un programme de sélection pour la résistance au virus de la jaunisse nanisante comparativement aux deux variétés témoins Manel et Rihane. L’analyse des différents paramètres évalués montre une diversité entre les lignées, bien que souvent très proches au niveau de certains caractères. En considérant les paramètres descriptifs dans leur globalité, il en ressort que la lignée L6 apparait performante sur plusieurs niveaux, notamment les teneurs en sucres solubles (4 µg/mg MS), en amidon (143 µg/mg de MS), en azote et en protéines, mais aussi par son comportement vis-à-vis des stress salin et hydrique.

Mots clés : Orge, Stress salin, Stress hydrique, Sucres solubles, Amidon, Hordéines.

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