Physical Fruit Traits in Moroccan Almond Seedlings: Quality Aspects and Post-Harvest Uses

The physical traits of local almond populations from Morocco were studied to characterize their genetic resources and to evaluate the possibility of their commercial valorization. Nut weight ranged between 1.15 and 7.39 g, and kernel weight between 0.54 and 1.85 g, but most accessions were characterized by small kernels, pronounced wrinkles, and double kernels. Although the physical quality of the kernels of these populations was low, they show the possibility of some specialized uses, which could improve their marketable value. The genotypes with favorable values could be incorporated into an almond breeding program as parents to increase the kernel quality.Publishe

Multiple Pathways in Cp₂TiCl₂—Catalyzed Reaction of Tetraalkyl-Substituted Pyrazines with EtAlCl₂ and Mg

There exist a number of classical methods for the synthesis of substituted pyrazines. Among this variety of reactions, the synthesis of substituted pyrazines from nitriles does not stand out in either the number of known examples or in product yield. However, the one-stage character of the transformation, together with the uncertainty of its mechanism, aroused our interest in this catalytic reaction. Here, we report the successful implementation of the Cp2TiCl2-catalyzed reaction of aliphatic nitriles with EtAlCl2 and Mg, which led to the selective preparation of 2,3,5,6-tetraalkyl-substituted pyrazines, 2,4,5-trisubstituted-1H-imidazole or 2-aminocyclopent-1-ene-carbonitrile depending on reaction conditions and substituents