The Potential Growing Areas for Argania spinosa (L.) Skeels (Sapotaceae) in Argentinean Drylands

PITTA-ALVAREZ, SANDRA; FALASCA, SILVIA L.; ULBERICH, ANA

International Journal of Agronomy

Hindawi

Lugar: Londres; Año: 2018 vol. 2018 p. 1 - 10

1687-8159

The argan (Argania spinosa L.) tree is indigenous to southwestern Morocco. Successful introduction of this species in Argentinadepends on the degree of climate similarity in the natural area compared to new areas with agroclimatic suitability. Based oninternational bibliography, the authors outlined an agroclimatic zoningmodel for this tree in Argentina. To determine agroclimaticsuitability, the average climatic data of all the meteorological stations (1981?2010) were analyzed. Climatological characteristics of itsregion of origin were considered to evaluate the requirements and biometeorological conditions.The maps were obtained using aseries of previously interpolated bioclimatic variables. The agroclimatic indices, which determine different classes of suitability,were integrated in a Geographic Information System (GIS) to create thermal and moisture regions. The resulting maps weresuperimposed to determine the agroclimatic zoning. Eight classes of agroclimatic suitability under dry-subhumid, semiarid, andarid climatic conditions were delineated. There are no optimal zones for the argan tree in Argentina. This work can be updatedby further incorporation of complementary information. Argan tree is a promising dryland crop for farmers in semiarid and aridclimates of Argentina. This model may be applied in any part of the world, using the agroclimatic limits presented in this paper.