Ethno-Botany, Genetic Diversity, Micro-Propagation and Nutritional Profiling of Enset [Ensete Ventricosum (Welw.) Cheesman] Landraces from Central Ethiopia
| dc.contributor.advisor | Tileye Feyissa | |
| dc.contributor.author | Tesfaye Dilebo | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2025-08-17T23:27:21Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2025-08-17T23:27:21Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2024-06 | |
| dc.description.abstract | Enset [Ensete ventricosum (Welw.) Cheesman] is a perennial, multipurpose crop that serves as a staple or co-staple food for about 25 million people in Ethiopia. Despite its significant importance and the existing knowledge about diverse enset landraces and their external morphology and complex internal anatomical features, there are limited documented studies on this crop. Furthermore, the ethnobotany of ethnolinguistic communities in the country, culturally linked to the use and management of enset, is a complex and under-researched area. Therefore,this study was focused on the wealth of farmers’ indigenous knowledge on farm-level enset diversity, distribution, and selection patterns, the local landrace identification criteria, and nomenclatural system with the evaluation of the extent of genetic diversity and population structure, further developing an efficient micro-propagation protocol and identifying the nutritional and anti-nutritional contents of selected landraces. The study and sample collections were performed in the Hadiya, Kembata, Gurage, and Silte administrative zones of Ethiopia. A total of 240 enset farmers were surveyed using semi-structured interviews for ethnobotanical research and documentation of indigenous knowledge. The Shannon-Weaver, Simpson, Pielou, and Sorenson’s similarity indices were also used to evaluate the diversity and similarity of the enset landraces. To evaluate the extent of genetic diversity and population structure, a total of 147 individual leaf samples were collected from the Hadiya, Kembata, Gurage, and Silte zones and the Areka Agricultural Research Center, and the analysis was computed by using 12 simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. For the in vitro propagation approach, about 1.0 cm long shoot tips were cultured on MS medium gelled with 5%–10% bulla and supplemented with 1–6 mg/l BAP, either separately or in combination with IAA. Regarding the proximate, the Association of Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC) standard methods were applied. Minerals, phytate, tannin and Oxalate contents were determined using the different models of the spectrophotometer methods and the standard procedures. A total of 282 farmer-named enset landraces have been identified, ranging from 2 to 32 on individual homegardens. The Hadiya Zone had the highest number of enset landraces (86), while the Silte Zone had the lowest number (57). The results of the Shannon diversity index and Simpson’s 1-D diversity index indicated the presence of high enset diversity in the study zones. The Sorenson’s similarity index ranged from 0.24 to 0.73, sharing 16–47 landraces in common. Of the 282 landraces, 210 (74.5%) were recorded in more than one zone, whereas 72 (25.5%) had a narrow distribution being recorded in a single zone. The local names of some enset landraces indicate their uniqueness in morphological traits, place of origin, agronomic features, and quality attributes of their end products. The 12 SSR markers result shows a total of 289 alleles, ranging from 12 to 41 alleles per locus. The polymorphism information content (PIC) for each locus varied from 0.86 to 0.95. The number of effective alleles ranged from 5.13 to 11.79. The expected and observed heterozygosity showed average values of 0.85 and 0.84, respectively. Among the six populations, the wild-growing population had the highest percentage of polymorphic loci (100%). AMOVA attributed 89% of the genetic variation to intra-population and only 11% to among populations. The UPGMA and principal coordinates indicate three major groups. The 8% (w/v) of enset bulla was ideal and provided significant figures in the number and length of shoots and roots per shoot when compared with 0.6% (w/v) agar-gelled MS media. MS medium containing 2.0–3.0 mg/l BAP was the appropriate concentration for in vitro shoot induction and growth. The 4.0 mg/l BAP alone and 5.0 mg/l BAP in combination with 1.0 mg/l IAA were suitable for multiple shoot induction, whereas 2.0 mg/l IBA and 1.0 mg/NAA separately were found to be the optimum concentrations for root induction and development. The proximate composition (%) ranged in moisture content from 68.2–79.4, crude protein (2.43–11.90), crude fat (0.61–0.89), crude fiber (2.42–4.11), and total ash (2.01–4.60), while the total carbohydrates came to 80.89–89.92, and gross energy was 369.96–385.12 kcal/100 g. The mineral concentrations (mg/100 g) ranged from 22.46–49.74 for calcium, 28.51–86.56 for potassium, and lower for magnesium, phosphorus, sodium, iron, and zinc on a dry weight basis. The anti-nutritional contents (mg/100 g) for phytate, tannin, and oxalate ranged from 221.75–276.12, 27.97–113.74, and 5.69–9.10, respectively. Except for phytate×calcium to zinc, and oxalate to calcium, the molar ratios were above the standard values. Overall, the information gained from this study would be useful for improving programs and conservation strategies for the enset crop, which enhances Ethiopia's sustained food security. | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://etd.aau.edu.et/handle/123456789/6953 | |
| dc.language.iso | en_US | |
| dc.publisher | Addis Ababa University | |
| dc.subject | Corm | |
| dc.subject | Enset Ethnobotany | |
| dc.subject | Gene Flow | |
| dc.subject | Local Taxonomic System | |
| dc.subject | Micro-Propagation | |
| dc.subject | Nutritional Profile | |
| dc.subject | Polymorphism | |
| dc.subject | Solidifying Agent | |
| dc.title | Ethno-Botany, Genetic Diversity, Micro-Propagation and Nutritional Profiling of Enset [Ensete Ventricosum (Welw.) Cheesman] Landraces from Central Ethiopia | |
| dc.type | Thesis |