Contribution to the study and characterization of three populations of nigella (Nigella sativa) in the semi-arid zone of the North-Western Algeria (W. Sidi Bel-Abbes)
Keywords:
Nigella sativa, population, semi-arid conditions, adaptation, morphological characters, phenological stages.Abstract
Nigella sativa is an annual plant belonging to the family of Ranunculaceae. It is cultivated worldwide for its therapeutic use and culinary purposes. Three populations of black cumin (Nigella II, Nigella 2 and Nigella station) were the subject of a morphological characterization and adaptive to semi-arid conditions of the research site of the Algerian National Institute Agronomic Research institute (NIARA) of the region of Lamtar (Wilaya of Sidi Bel Abbes).
The qualitative morphological characteristics observed are similar for the three populations, except in the strength and color of plants. Nigella II is relatively late as compared to the two other populations, which present an almost identical development cycle of 132 days. The analysis of the quantitative parameters reveals that the Nigella 2 is the best adapted to the conditions of the region, expressing superiority of character compared to control (reference) on seven parameters while it is lower on two others. However, Nigella II presents some interesting characters who can give good result in other conditions such as the height, the number of leaves, the stamens per plant, the number of capsules with 4 carpels and finally the yield per plant.
