This paper aims atstudying the morphological variation among Moringa oleifera populations in 8 sites in Egypt. The population of Qanatir Horticulture Research Institute had the maximum size (853.8 m3tree-1) and diameters of canopy (9.9 m tree-1) and stem at ground and breast height levels (76.1 and 63.4 cm tree-1), while those of Sheikh Zuweid had the minimum size (5.6 m3 tree-1) and height (2.0 m tree-1). Many branching modes of the main trunk were observed, where sympodial branching was the dominant in most sites. M. oleifera leaves in Botanic Garden of Faculty of Education - Ain Shams University were the longest (59.6 cm leaf-1) and those in Sheikh Zuweid were the shortest (24.5 cm leaf-1). On the other hand, the pods of Qanatir Horticulture Research Institute were the longest (50.4 cm pod-1). In addition, the pods of Botanic Garden of Faculty of Education - Ain Shams University contained the maximum number of seeds (21.8 seed pod-1), while the heaviest seeds were those of Sheikh Zuweid (270.0 mg seed-1). Variations in the morphology of M. oleifera organs (trees, leaves, pods and seeds) may be not only related to environmental conditions, particularly the soil properties, but also genetic differences within species. A further study on the genetic variation among the populations of this plant should be carried out. |
