Integrated Major Pest Management Systems of Enset (<i>Ensete ventricosum </i>(Welw.) Cheesman) in Ethiopia

Abstract

Enset is an important root crop widely used as a staple food for millions of people in Ethiopia. Despite to enset is dominantly produced in southern and south western parts of the county, diverse diseases and insect pests are challenging its growth and productivity at these production areas. Hence, this review was aimed to discuss the integrated pest management (IPM) system that used to control the major enset pests (disease and inset) in different production areas of Ethiopia. Enset is a root crop that is highly susceptible to different kinds of diseases and insect pest problems. Enset Bacterial wilt (EBW) is a major devastating disease causing important economic losses and can lead up to killing the whole plant parts that are commonly observed around enset growing areas of the country. Enset root mealybug is also a major insect found on the upper half of the corm and root parts of enset which can retard the plant growth and causes to dry the outer parts of the leaf that might finally leading to the plant death. However, most of enset growers are practicing different controlling mechanisms against these major enset diseases and insect pests around the production areas. Due to the chemical controlling method needs the cost of purchase and usage on root mealybug has usually not effective, the producers are widely uses an IPM systems incorporating with their indigenous knowledges to prevent the major disease and insect introduction to the enset field and to control an already infected plant. Hence, the enset producers mainly uses the IPM components like the host plant resistance, the cultural controlling system, the biological controlling system, and the chemical controlling system as the last option to manage their enset farms in Ethiopia. These IPM components are not only an optional pest controlling methods but necessitate its practice against the major pest problems due to environmentally friend, cost-effective, and alternative options to various behaviors of pests. However, breeding for pest-resistant enset genotype and adoption of successful IPM controlling mechanisms to all enset growing areas need further work to alleviate the encountered challenges on the enset production areas in Ethiopia.