Description
Olive tree cultivation plays an important role in the mountainous area of Skoura M’Daz, in Morocco, often combined with the understory cultivation of animal fodder. Harvesting and processing of medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs) is an increasingly important economic activity for local women, who are organized in a cooperative. To intensify MAP production and processing, intercropping of MAP in existing olive orchards is suggested as a way to increase the cultivation area while offering further ecological benefits.
Type of work
-Literature review on 1) MAP as understory crops in olive intercropping, 2) theirrequirements regarding environmental parameters (light, temperature, water) and nutrients, as well as 3) olive tree requirements in water, nutrients etc.
-Design a field trial for intercropping of olive trees and MAP in the selected case study area, taking into account relevant factors including: 1) type of understory crops, 2) spatial arrangement, 3) organic fertilization
-Collect data from the field trial on relevant performance indicators (biomass growth, yield and other)
-Assess the effects of the different treatments on biomass growth, olive yield and other relevant indicators.
-Depending on the timing and duration of the internship or MSc thesis, the student may focus on parts of the abovementioned components.
Prerequisites
Background in plant science, agronomy or related field; required courses for MSc thesis at PPS
Willingness to travel to a rural mountainous area in Morocco and live under basic circumstances, French is a prerequisite, Arabic is an advantage
Location
Mountainous town of Skoura M’Daz, Boulemane region, Morocco
Period
Starting September 2024
Collaboration
This project is a collaboration between PPS and the National School of Agriculture in Meknes (ENAM) in the NATAE project (EU-project: Fostering agroecological transition in North Africa through multi-actor evaluation and networking)
Supervisors
·Marilena Reinhard-Kolempas – marilena.reinhard-kolempas@wur.nl
·Gerrie van de Ven –gerrie.vandeven@wur.nl
