The Ethiopian staple food crop enset (Ensete ventricosum) assessed for the first time for resistance against the root-lesion nematode Pratylenchus goodeyi

What is it about?

Enset is a large plant of the Musaceae family, like bananas. Enset is domesticated and cultivated as a food crop only in Ethiopia. Unlike banana, enset does not have edible fruit, but rather the pseudostem and corm are harvested after 3-12 years and processed. In the south and southwestern part of the country, enset serves as a key staple food crop for about 20% of the Ethiopian population. It creates stability in relation to food security in the area, it is harvested earlier if other crops fail due to climatic conditions. The nematode Pratylenchus goodeyi is the most prevalent nematode pest of enset in Ethiopia. It can occur in extremely high densities. This is the first assessment of reactions by enset to P. goodeyi infection. Determining pest resistant cultivars is an important task in developing management strategies. Nine cultivars was tested to establish host response and identify potential resistance. Significant differences in final population densities and reproduction factor of the nematode were observed, with ‘Gefetanuwa’ the most susceptible and ‘Maziya’, ‘Heila’ and ‘Kellisa’ most resistant. Plants were given four inoculum densities; these affected the nematode population density and reproduction factor on all cultivars, but not among the three most resistant cultivars. This is the first known study to assess genotype reaction to P. goodeyi: there are significant differences in the reactions of different cultivars, and that resistance is present in enset.

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