Indigenous knowledge, diversity, and management practices of Ensete ventricosum (Welw.) Cheesman in Bita District, Southwestern Ethiopia: Implications for conservation and food security

Indigenous knowledge, diversity, and management practices of Ensete ventricosum (Welw.) Cheesman in Bita District, Southwestern Ethiopia: Implications for conservation and food security | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Indigenous knowledge, diversity, and management practices of Ensete ventricosum (Welw.) Cheesman in Bita District, Southwestern Ethiopia: Implications for conservation and food security Ashebir Awoke, Kindu Chane, Aklilu Ayiza, Girma Gudesho This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7887892/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Background Enset ( Ensete ventricosum (Welw.) Cheeseman) is a vital staple crop in southern and southwestern Ethiopia, providing food, fiber, medicinal resources, and cultural value. Despite its importance, enset cultivation faces challenges including diseases, pests, decreasing land availability, and diminishing interest among younger generations. Documenting indigenous knowledge (IK) of enset cultivation is critical for preserving biodiversity, sustaining livelihoods, and ensuring food security. Methods A mixed-methods approach was employed, integrating household surveys (N = 204), key informant interviews, focus group discussions, and field observations. Data collection focused on enset propagation, planting patterns, fertilization, pest and disease management, harvesting, processing, and socio-cultural uses. Preference ranking and direct matrix ranking techniques were used to identify the most valued enset varieties, while statistical analyses in R software (version 4.4.3) examined the relationships between indigenous knowledge, age, gender, and education. Results Vegetative propagation via suckers was the dominant method, with farmers applying organic fertilizers and traditional pest management practices. Preference ranking indicated Nobo, Bejo, and Tayo as the most valued varieties based on food, fiber, and medicinal qualities. Direct matrix ranking highlighted multipurpose uses, reinforcing the socio-economic and cultural significance of enset. Age positively correlated with indigenous knowledge (r = 0.634, p < 0.01), while gender and literacy had no significant effect. Major threats included bacterial wilt (45.6%), mole rats (21.6%), and animal attacks (15.7%). Knowledge transfer from older to younger farmers emerged as a critical factor in sustaining cultivation practices. Conclusion Indigenous knowledge is central to the successful cultivation, management, and utilization of enset. Integrating traditional practices with modern interventions, promoting disease-resistant varieties, and engaging younger generations are essential to enhance productivity, maintain biodiversity, and secure food systems. Botany Ensete ventricosum indigenous knowledge propagation preference ranking pest management Ethiopia food security Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7887892","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":531298225,"identity":"927d1ddb-b85a-4f10-913a-e8e8aa2cead9","order_by":0,"name":"Ashebir 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ventricosum\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/em\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e (Welw.) Cheesman in Bita District, Southwestern Ethiopia: Implications for conservation and food security\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"Mizan Tepi University","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Ensete ventricosum, indigenous knowledge, propagation, preference ranking, pest management, Ethiopia, food security","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7887892/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7887892/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003ch2\u003eBackground\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eEnset (\u003cem\u003eEnsete ventricosum\u003c/em\u003e (Welw.) Cheeseman) is a vital staple crop in southern and southwestern Ethiopia, providing food, fiber, medicinal resources, and cultural value. Despite its importance, enset cultivation faces challenges including diseases, pests, decreasing land availability, and diminishing interest among younger generations. Documenting indigenous knowledge (IK) of enset cultivation is critical for preserving biodiversity, sustaining livelihoods, and ensuring food security.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eMethods\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eA mixed-methods approach was employed, integrating household surveys (N\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;204), key informant interviews, focus group discussions, and field observations. Data collection focused on enset propagation, planting patterns, fertilization, pest and disease management, harvesting, processing, and socio-cultural uses. Preference ranking and direct matrix ranking techniques were used to identify the most valued enset varieties, while statistical analyses in R software (version 4.4.3) examined the relationships between indigenous knowledge, age, gender, and education.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eResults\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eVegetative propagation via suckers was the dominant method, with farmers applying organic fertilizers and traditional pest management practices. Preference ranking indicated Nobo, Bejo, and Tayo as the most valued varieties based on food, fiber, and medicinal qualities. Direct matrix ranking highlighted multipurpose uses, reinforcing the socio-economic and cultural significance of enset. Age positively correlated with indigenous knowledge (r\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.634, p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.01), while gender and literacy had no significant effect. Major threats included bacterial wilt (45.6%), mole rats (21.6%), and animal attacks (15.7%). Knowledge transfer from older to younger farmers emerged as a critical factor in sustaining cultivation practices.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eConclusion\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eIndigenous knowledge is central to the successful cultivation, management, and utilization of enset. Integrating traditional practices with modern interventions, promoting disease-resistant varieties, and engaging younger generations are essential to enhance productivity, maintain biodiversity, and secure food systems.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Indigenous knowledge, diversity, and management practices of Ensete ventricosum (Welw.) 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