Les vallées d'Imintanoute offrent un exemple des vallées montagnardes du Haut Atlas occidental en crise. Ayant longtemps été considéré par ses habitants comme un « espace refuge », le pays d'Imintanoute apparaît, aujourd?hui, comme une « zone d'émigration » par excellence. Malgré une certaine diversification des cultures, occupant l'espace irrigué (bled targa) du fond des vallées et la culture céréalière pluviale d'orge du bled bour* (espace de culture pluviale), associée à un élevage et à une arboriculture diversifiée (amandiers et oliviers) comme source de revenu complémentaire de la paysannerie, actuellement, des signes de crise apparaissent de façon évidente. L'agriculture de subsistance souffre de la sécheresse persistante, du manque d'irrigation, d'un rendement à l'hectare très faible, d'une arboriculture en cours de dégradation et d'un élevage toujours en déclin. La collectivité traditionnelle et l'espace imintanoutiens n'ont pas non plus échappé aux mutations profondes. La majorité des vieux systèmes d'irrigation (la naoura et la sania) a été laissé à l'abandon ou remplacé par la motopompe. Cette technique moderne a transformé le paysage du bled targa voire du bled bour*. Tous les villages sont touchés aujourd'hui par l'émigration sans exception. Beaucoup de jeunes quittent leurs douars pour cause de pauvreté. Aujourd'hui, de nouvelles structures socio-économiques, culturelles et politiques ont changé les comportements et les modes de vie des populations. Face aux transformations, l'espoir repose sur la nouvelle autoroute Marrakech-Agadir et sur d'autres projets encore afin de redynamiser l'économie de façon à améliorer la qualité de vie des Aït Imintanoute. / Imintanoute valleys constitute an example of mountain valleys in Western Atlas undergoing severe crisis. Long considered a "place of refuge" by its inhabitants, the Imintanoute area - with its three aspects: mountain, piedmont and plain - now appears as a major "expulsion zone".Even though agriculture has diversified to some extent - based in the irrigated zones (bled targa) at the bottom of valleys and on the rainfed barley crops of the bled bour* (rainfed agricultural area), together with breeding and diversified fruit tree crops (almond and olive trees) as a source of complementary income for farmers - obvious signs of crisis appear today. Subsistence agriculture suffers from persistent draughts, lack of irrigation, a very low average yield rate per hectare, the gradual degradation of fruit tree crops and the decline of breeding. The traditional community and the area of Imintanoute have undergone profound changes. Most of the old irrigation systems (naoura and sania) have been abandoned or replaced by power pumps. That modern technology has transformed the landscape of the bled targa and possibly even of the bled bour*. All villages without exception are affected by emigration. Many young people are driven out from their douars by poverty. Today, new social, economic, cultural and political structures have changed the behaviours and the ways of life of the populations. In view of those changes, hope rests on the new motorway from Marrakech to Agadir and on still other projects to redynamize the economy and thus improve the quality of life of the Aït Imintanoute.

The pomegranate fruit is one of the high valued crops, but there is insufficient information regarding the fruit properties in South Africa. The aim of the study was to evaluate the physico-chemical properties as well as total phenols, anthocyanin, antioxidant, organic sugars and acids of cultivar Wonderful on three locations of the Western Cape. This study was conducted on mature pomegranate fruits harvested in the 2012 and 2013 seasons. Fruit weight (g), length (mm), and width (mm), peel/aril colour and total arils weights (g) were measured. Fruits were also analysed for total soluble solids (TSS) or °Brix), titratable acidity (TA) and juice pH. Results of the study showed that there were significant differences in all measured factors with the exception of % aril yield between the three locations. Though varied per season, fruits produced at Bonnievalle had better physical and chemical properties than at the other localities. With the exception of Aril hue angle, all measured parameters had significant interaction effect regardless of locality (P<0.05). Total soluble solids content varied from 16.0–17.3 (°Brix), pH values from 2.7–3.0, titratable acid content varied from 1.3–1.7 and maturity index from 9.7–13.4. The anthocyanin, total phenols and antioxidant were in order of 772–1134; 1611–1834 and 12.57–14.84. Organic acids (Citric and Malic) showed differences while Acetic acid was not significant in all areas and organic sugar (fructose, Glucose and Sucrose) all had significant differences. It can also be concluded that changes in colour of peel and arils of pomegranate (cv. Wonderful) was mostly as a result of seasonal variation as well as growing area as evident by the interaction between both main factors. / Agriculture / M. Sc (Agriculture)

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