Agro-morphological, Physiological and Yield related Performances of Finger Millet [Eleusine coracana (l.) Gaertn.] Accessions Evaluated for Drought Resistance under Field Condition

The study was conducted at Dhera Sub-center of Kulumsa Agricultural Research Center, Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia from July - December 2011; to screen drought tolerance of 96 finger millet accessions (Eleusine coracana L. Gaertn.) collected from different agro-ecological zones of the country. Data were collected for plant height (PH), green leaf number (GLN), green leaf area (GLA), ear number (EN), ear length (EL) and relative water content (RWC). Significant difference (P<0.05) were obtained between accessions for most selected physiological, morphological and yield related traits such as Chlorophyll Content Index (CCI), RWC, and yield related parameters, such as tiller number (TN), productive tillers (PT), seed weight per head and per plant. Based on high RWC, CCI, GLN, PT, EL, and EN, Grain Yield per head and per plant, a total of 23 accessions were categorized as drought stress tolerance and promoted to the next intensive physiological and yield related evaluation. Moreover, AAUFM-7, AAUFM-2, AAUFM-44 were the first top three accessions with the highest grain yield of 77.5, 72g/plant and 65.4g/plant, respectively. Overall, the higher genetic variability observed among accession in this study should be further utilized for finger millet improvement targeting semi-arid areas of Ethiopia

Awol A: Traditional medicinal plants used by people in Libo-Kemkem district

Abstract: The present study was conducted between June 2010 and September 2010, to document medicinal plant species traditionally used by peoples in Libo-kemekem district, South Gondar, Ethiopia. Ethnobotanical data were collected using semi structured interviews, focused group discussion and field observations. A total of 52 medically important plants belonging to 45 families and 47 genera were identified in the district. Majorities (47.37%) were collected from wild. Most of the plants (94.23%) were reportedly used to treat human diseases. The most frequently used plant parts were leaves (40.38%), followed by fruits (23.08%) and roots (17.31%). Local people depend on both dry and fresh remedies. The administration routes were oral (57.69%), dermal (25.00%), nasal (11.54 %) and anal (5.77%). The preference ranking showed that Lantana camara was the most important species in treating diarrhea followed by Vernonia amygdalin indicating high utility value of the species in the community. The results revealed existence of diverse medicinal plants and indigenous knowledge in the study area. Therefore, documenting medicinal plants and associated indigenous knowledge can be used as a basis for developing management plans for conservation and sustainable use of medicinal plants in the area