CARACTERISATION PHENOTYPIQUE QUALITATIVE ET IDENTIFICATION DES RONIERS (BORASSUS SPP.) DES REGIONS DE LAGNEBY-TIASSA, DU BELIER, DU HAUT-SASSANDRA, DE LA MARAHOUE ET DU NZI EN COTE DIVOIRE

The distributions of Borassus aethiopum and Borassus akeassii, observed in certain ecological zones, do not overlap. Also, characterization by qualitative parameters provides useful informations on palmyra stands. But in Cote dIvoire, the qualitative characteristics and the distribution of palmyra are not known. Thus, this investigation aimed to describe the phenotypic diversity of the palmyra of the regions of Agneby-Tiassa, Belier, Haut-Sassandra, Marahoue and Nzi, identify them and establish their distributions. To do this, we collected qualitative data on palmyra in various stands in these regions and then processed them. At the end of this, we observed three, six, two, four and two colorations, respectively, of the trunk, the petiole, the immature fruit, the ripe fruit, the pulp of ripe fruits, and described three forms of fruit. In addition, the palmyra of Marahoue present more variable qualitative characteristics. The results indicate that the palmyra of the regions of Nzi, Belier and Agneby-Tiassa belong to Borassus aethiopum and those of Haut-Sassandra to Borassus akeassii. In Marahoue, palmyra of both species are encountered, even already from Zambakro. This study showed that the palmyra present variable modalities for each of the six qualitative parameters considered. These made it possible to highlight a distribution zone specific to each species and a transition zone. These informations should be used for other studies on palmyra populations in Cote dIvoire.