Résumé
Given the position of the Lebanese vineyards in the eastern Mediterranean and its long history of viticulture in various agroclimatic conditions, it is likely that this local germplasm holds a large substantial diversity. Nevertheless, it has not been adequately addressed yet. In this study, we shed light on the unnoticed high altitude Lebanese vineyards of Hadchit village (1500 m a.s.l.) in North Lebanon were examined. Based on interviews with local farmers,18 grapevine accessions were selected for the study and information on their traditional and present use, as well as the origin of genetic material was obtained. Genetic analysis was performed with 22 nuclear microsatellite markers widely used in other studies. The average allelic diversity was 6.18 alleles per marker. Genetic profiling yielded 13 different genetic profiles and comparison to international grapevine databases revealed cases of synonymy, duplication, and misnaming, and also showed that nine genetic profiles had no correspondence in these databases. The studied accessions are of interest because of their long history, and diverse modes of utilization. The study highlights the interest of exploring the traditional grapevine germplasm preserved on farm and how it contributes to the genotypic richness held in Lebanon.