Abstract
Summary Enset (Ensete ventricosum) is an important starch staple crop, cultivated primarily in south and southwestern Ethiopia. Enset is the main crop of a sustainable indigenous African system that ensures food security in a country that is food deficient. Related to the banana family, enset is similarly affected by plant-parasitic nematodes. Plant-parasitic nematodes impose a huge constraint on agriculture. The distribution, population density and incidence of plant-parasitic nematodes of enset was determined during August 2018. A total of 308 fields were sampled from major enset-growing zones of Ethiopia. Eleven plant-parasitic nematode taxa were identified, with Pratylenchus (lesion nematode) being the most prominent genus present with a prominence value of 1460. It was present in each sample, with a highest mean population density per growing zone of 16 050 (10 g root)−1, although densities as high as 25 000 were observed in fields at higher altitudes in Guraghe (2200-3000 m a.s.l.). This lesion nematode is found in abundance in the cooler mountainous regions. Visible damage on the roots and corms was manifested as dark purple lesions. Using a combination of morphometric and molecular data, all populations were identified as P. goodeyi and similar to populations from Kenya, Uganda and Spain (Tenerife). Differences in population densities amongst cultivars indicate possible resistance of enset to P. goodeyi.
Highlights
Ensete ventricosum, commonly known as enset, is a large perennial herbaceous plant belonging to the Musacea family, together with banana and plantain
Additional P. goodeyi populations were collected from Kenya and Uganda, and others supplied from Canary Islands, which were included in the molecular assessment for comparison with Ethiopian populations
Pratylenchus spp. densities were highest in the highlands of Guraghe, where mean densities of 16 050 and 12 217 (10 g root)−1 were observed in Meskan and Ezha woredas/districts, respectively, densities as high as 25 000 (10 g root)−1 were recorded from individual fields
Summary
Commonly known as enset, is a large perennial herbaceous plant belonging to the Musacea family, together with banana and plantain. The enset root mealy bug (Cataenococcus ensete) can cause severe damage to the roots and corm, reducing crop vigour and production (Addis et al, 2010). Fungal diseases such as a Sclerotium sp. Plant-parasitic nematodes, well known as major production constraints to banana and plantain production (Sikora et al, 2018), have received only limited attention on enset (Coyne & Kidane, 2018; Coyne et al, 2018). The root-knot nematodes Meloidogyne incognita, M. javanica and M. ethiopica, and Aphelenchoides ensete have been reported as potential production constraints (Mandefro & Dagne, 2000; Swart et al, 2000). This study served to identify ‘hot spots’ where material could be collected for use in trials
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