Value adding search among a selection of Tunisian fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Mill.) cultivars: Diversity assessment and selection among a local fennel germplasm

Abstract

Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Mill.) is a very popular, aromatic, herbaceous plant that belongs to the Apiaceae family. It is among most important spices and medicinal species over the world. Nevertheless, in Tunisia fennel cultivation doesn't cover the local market needs. Also, fennel seeds are produced by farmers traditionally, and none of the local cultivars is named nor labelled in the market. Efforts have been deployed during the present work aiming to the characterization and valorization of genetic fennel resources. Hence, morphological diversity assessment was carried out among 62 entries of fennel acquired from different origins. Two steps principle component analysis (PCA) were applied. It came out with 7 selected cultivars of fennel representative of the initial diversity as assessed within the 62 collected fennel entries. Interestingly, among these latter, some of them exhibited particular phenotypic features linked to production traits.