Effect of Drought and Habitat Condition on some Physiological and Biochemical Constituents of Ficus carica L. Fruits

The current study aimed to explore the variation in some physiological and biochemical constituents in
Ficus carica L. fruits under the influence of two irrigation systems (irrigated and rainfed) and habitat
conditions (non saline depression and sand dunes). Samples of syconium were collected from four
orchards at Burg El-Arab and Omayed North West of Alexandria. The soil moisture and texture was
widely differed from one locality to another. Carbohydrates, proteins, amino acids and proline attained
their higher concentration in rainfed orchards under the conditions of the two habitats. On the other
hand, the photosynthetic pigments ( chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b and carotenoids) and fruit dry weight
(economic yield) attained the highest values in irrigated orchards under the two different habitats (sand
dunes > non-saline). Leaf area attained slightly higher values in irrigated orchards which may reflect
the highest economic yield of these trees. Concerning the nutrient content, generally, Ca exhibited the
highest concentration in syconium in most studied orchards followed by Na and K while Fe showed the
lowest concentration. This possibly will reflect the ability of fig trees to accumulate Ca in their tissues
and this is one of the adaptative responses to the habitats with high concentration of CaCO3
(sand
dunes).