Background: Many experimental studies have suggested an important role for barley Rihane(BR)in the prevention of colon cancer and cardiovascular diseases. The objective of this study was to evaluate the physico-chemical properties and nutritional characterizations of BR compared to other varieties grown in Tunisia (Manel, Roho and Tej). Material and Methods: Total, insoluble and soluble dietary fiber(β-glucan),total protein, ash and some minerals of BR and Tunisian barley varieties were determined. Results:The results revealed that BR is good source of dietary fiber mainly β-glucan compared to the other varieties. This variety is a relatively rich source of phosphorous and potassium and it contains many important unsaturated fatty acids. BR has higher nutritional value than other varieties. Conclusion: Barley Rihane has significant nutritional characterizations compared to others Tunisian barleys varieties.

Sunflower (Helianthus annuus) is a major oilseed crop, cultivated throughout the world, and the nutritional quality of its edible oil ranks among the best vegetable oils in agricultural product. In Tunisia, there is a lack of study on biochemical characterization of sunflower germplasm oil. The present study was conducted to analyze oil content and fatty acid composition of 22 local and introduced sunflower accessions. Results revealed significant variation among studied accessions for all measured biochemical traits. The average oil content of the H. annuus accessions was 53.2%, ranging from 35.33% to 59.67%. The results of this study also indicated that unsaturated acids, particularly oleic acid and linoleic acid, were the most abundant fatty acids in oils. Fatty acid compositions of sunflower oils showed diversity depending on the accession. The first two components of the principal component analysis (PCA) contributed 45.7% of the total variability. Cluster analysis based on PCA separated the accessions into four clear groups, which were not grouped according to their geographical origin. Moreover, the classification of the evaluated sunflower accessions using clustering by Euclidean distance revealed four main groups. Linoleic acid had significant and negative correlations with some saturated acids (palmitic, stearic, and arachidic acids). These data can be useful for selecting sunflower accessions and the development of varieties with improved oil quality.

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This study was initiated to assess the effectiveness of three selection procedures applied in the early segregating generations of barley crosses for quality traits. The selection procedures were pedigree selection (PS), bulk selection (BS) and single seed descent selection (SSD). Selection was operated in F 2 's crosses. Field trials were conducted with 19 F 3 crosses of barley in two different environments, a sub-humid environment at Beja and a semi-arid one at Kef. Heading date (HD), thousand kernel weight (TKW), protein content (PC), β-glucan content (BG) and husk percentage (HP) were evaluated. Data were subjected to an additive main effects and multiplicative interaction (AMMI) model to determine the efficiency of each method of selection for the proper environment. The results show that the AMMI model generated predictive optimizing selection method. The pedigree selection was more efficient in high input environment, while the bulk method was very effective for the selection of kernel weight in target environment.