Morphological Variability of Fig (Ficus caricaL.) Cultivars

ABSTRACT Thirty one cultivars of fig (Ficus carica L.) were analyzed based on both qualitative and quantitative morphological characters. The cultivars can be found in five different regions: three originated from the north and two from localities from the south of Tunisia. A morphological study was conducted to determine variables in biological characteristics, tree growth, and leaf and fruit descriptors. This study showed an important genetic variability on fig germplasm. Both parameters relying on leaves and fruits showed an important degree of variability respectively about 71.7% and 81.9% for the three first principal components. UPGMA dendrograms were constructed from estimated Mahalanobis distances. The geographic origin and sex of the plant were not determinant criteria for cultivars clustering. This study allowed the characterization of large number of fig cultivars belonging to different regions of Tunisia ranging from north to south. The aim of this work was the morphological characterization of local fig varieties in order to start a program of conservation of fig germplasm to protect this species from genetic erosion.