Pollination of the Mediterranean Fig Tree, Ficus Carica L.: Caprification Practices and Social Networks of Exchange of Caprifigs among Jbala Farmers in Northern Morocco

Pollination of the Mediterranean Fig Tree, Ficus Carica L.: Caprification Practices and Social Networks of Exchange of Caprifigs among Jbala Farmers in Northern Morocco

The Mediterranean fig ( Ficus carica) is dioecious, with distinct male and female trees. Its pollinator, Blastophaga psenes , is hosted within male figs. We studied caprification, a practice to facilitate pollination by placing male figs from which pollinators emerge in female trees, among Jbala far...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Human ecology : an interdisciplinary journal Vol. 52; no. 2; pp. 289 - 302
Main Authors: Hmimsa, Y., Ramet, A., Dubuisson, C., El Fatehi, S., Hossaert-McKey, M., Kahi, H., Munch, J., Proffit, M., Salpeteur, M., Aumeeruddy-Thomas, Y.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: New York Springer US 01-04-2024
Springer Nature B.V
Subjects:
Anthropology
Climatic conditions
Environmental Management
Exchanging
Farmers
Females
Fruit trees
Geography
Human ecology
Life cycles
Males
Plant reproduction
Pollination
Pollinators
Small mammals
Social exchange theory
Social networks
Social organization
Social Sciences
Sociology
Trees
VOCs
Volatile organic compounds
Social exchange networks
Caprifig tree
Rif mountains
Farmer ethnoecological knowledge
Jbala farmers
Northern Morocco
Caprification
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Summary:The Mediterranean fig ( Ficus carica) is dioecious, with distinct male and female trees. Its pollinator, Blastophaga psenes , is hosted within male figs. We studied caprification, a practice to facilitate pollination by placing male figs from which pollinators emerge in female trees, among Jbala farmers in Morocco to analyze (1) farmers’ knowledge of the pollinator’s life cycle and receptivity of female figs; (2) the distribution of female fig varieties and diversity of male trees planted; and (3) the roles of social exchange networks in securing access to caprifigs using participant observation, open and semi-structured surveys, and an ego-centered protocol to study caprifig exchange networks. We document farmers’ knowledge regarding caprification, the pollinator life cycle, and the caprification of intermediate male fig generations under adverse climatic conditions. Caprifig exchange networks show the critical role of markets in obtaining caprifigs for early fig varieties and in exchanges among farmers for late varieties.
ISSN:0300-7839
1572-9915
DOI:10.1007/s10745-024-00493-6