Oilseeds are grown mainly for the extraction of vegetable oils and for its by-products needed in livestock feed and in other industrial uses. The oils obtained from them are becoming a staple food used in daily cooking in several countries, and as a result the world demand is constantly increasing. This situation, combined with the exponential increase in the world population and other cyclical factors, is leading to a surge pricing, especially in importing countries. This increase in prices is fueled by soaring oil prices and disruption in supplies following Covid-19 pandemic and geopolitical tensions in the Black Sea. Morocco is directly impacted by these fluctuations given that the country imports almost its total needs in vegetable oils, oilseeds and meals. The high dependence on imported vegetable oils and oilseed products has a detrimental effect on the economy of Morocco and weighs heavily on the country’s trade balance. Considering their increasingly important role in society, the development of a local oilseed sector to reduce Morocco’s dependence on imports and cope with the vagaries of global markets has never been more topical in the current context of sustainable agriculture and food sovereignty.

Climate change is a growing global issue and the most imminent concern threatening life forms. This applies in particular to the Mediterranean region where rates of most climate indicators are above global trends. Climate change could have implications for many facets of agricultural production systems. Although the olive tree (Olea europaea L.) is one of the most adapted species to the Mediterranean climate, its co-adaptation with pests may change with the considerable warming and drying trends in future climate projections. In fact, climate change will result in significant changes in diversity, distribution of insect pests, pest-plant interactions, natural enemy abundance, and the effectiveness of crop protection systems for pest control. Hence, a changed pattern in climatic factors has the potential to drastically affect the pest situation in olive groves and eventually lead to yield losses. This situation will create new challenges for olive growers who will have to protect their production and maximize their profit while adopting sustainable solutions.

Environmental cues, such as biotic and abiotic stresses, are limiting factors for plants’ growth and development. In the current context of global change, the vulnerability of plant species to environmental stressors is increasing with the observed and predicted climate changes and anthropogenic pressures. Consequently, understanding plant responses to environmental stresses is a major concern. However, plant species have developed several adaptive mechanisms and strategies to tolerate or resist the stressful conditions found within their environment. In this chapter, we report the effects of different stressful conditions on the emblematic olive tree (Olea europaea L.). The reported responses to biotic and abiotic stressors show that the olive tree exhibits an important level of tolerance and several resistance mechanisms to maintain its physiological process and, therefore, to sustain its growth and development. This chapter provides interesting insights into the olive tree’s importance as a valuable genetic resource for future breeding programs, especially under the current global changes. <!----> <!----> <!----> <!---->

In the realm of sustainable agriculture, biocontrol is gaining considerable attention for its focus on the development of safe, biodegradable, and environmentally friendly alternatives to traditional biocides. This study explored the potential use of essential oils as alternative biocontrol products for managing Verticillium dahliae , the causal agent of Verticillium wilt in olive trees. Essential oils (EOs) were obtained through hydrodistillation from six Moroccan aromatic and medicinal plants ( Ammodaucus leucotrichus, Mentha spicata , Origanum majorana , Rosmarinus officinalis, Salvia officinalis , and Thymus satureioides). These EOs were then subjected to chemical analysis by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and evaluated in vitro for their antifungal properties against V. dahliae. The bioassays revealed that all tested EOs reduced mycelial growth of the studied strain, and tended to have dose-dependent effects. Compared with the various essential oils evaluated in this study, A. leucotrichus essential oils showed the most pronounced antifungal efficacy at low and moderate concentrations. These EOs stand out for their high content of two monoterpenes, perillia aldehyde (84.19 %) and limonene (14.15 %), which were not found in the other essential oils examined. Therefore, our results open up new possibilities for exploiting these plants and their chemical constituents to develop a natural biofungicide as a component of integrated management strategies for Verticillium wilt of olive and other crops.