This study provides a comparative analysis of the dormancy and germination mechanisms of the indehiscent fruits of hoary cress (Lepidium draba L.) and hairy whitetop (Lepidium appelianum Al-Shehbaz), two invasive weeds of the Brassicaceae. Germination assays comparing isolated seeds (manually removed from the fruits) and intact indehiscent fruits showed that the isolated seeds are nondormant and provided full germination for both species. In contrast to this, the species differed in the germination properties of their indehiscent fruits, in that L. appelianum fruits were nondormant, while the L. draba fruit coat (pericarp) conferred a coat-imposed dormancy. The pericarp of L. draba fresh fruit was water permeable, and neither mechanical scarification nor surface sterilization affected germination, supporting the concept that pericarp-mediated dormancy was not due to water impermeability or mechanical constraint. Washing of L. draba fruits with water, afterripening (dry storage), and treatment with gibberellin (GA) stimulated the germination of this species, all of which are indicative of physiological dormancy. Analyses of endogenous abscisic acid (ABA) and GA levels combined with treatment experiments with wash water from fresh and afterripened L. draba pericarps and with ABA dose–response quantification of germination revealed that ABA is a key component of a pericarp-mediated chemical dormancy in this species. Consistent with this, pericarp ABA levels decreased during afterripening and upon fruit washing, and isolated fresh or afterripened seeds did not differ in their ABA sensitivities. The possible roles of the ABA-mediated pericarp dormancy for the germination ecophysiology and weed management of these species are discussed.

Lepidium sativum L. (family Brassicaceae), is an underutilized medicinal plant with worldwide distribution. In Ethiopia, L. sativum occurs in all regions and agro-ecologies at different altitudinal ranges. The study was conducted to assess the genetic diversity of L. sativum population from Ethiopia using inter simple sequence repeat (ISSR) marker. Molecular data generated from ISSR bands recorded was used for computing gene diversity, percent polymorphism and Shannon diversity index and AMOVA. Moreover, the ISSR data was used to construct unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean (UPGMA) and principal coordinated analysis (PCO) plot using Jaccard's coefficient. Tigray and Amhara population showed higher gene diversity (0.24) and Shannon information index (0.35). All UPGMA, neighbor-joining (NJ) and PCO analysis showed very weak grouping among individuals collected from the same regions. Generally, Tigray and Amhara regions showed moderate to high diversity in ISSR analysis. Different geographical regions of Ethiopia, showed different level of variation; thus conservation priority should be given for those regions that have high genetic diversity. This result also indicates the presence of genetic diversity that can be exploited to improve the productivity of L. sativum in Ethiopia.

Mung beans are grown widely for use as a human food (as dry beans or fresh sprouts), but can be used as a green manure crop and as forage for livestock. This study assessed the marketing practice and challenges of Mung bean in the Amhara Region, North Shewa Zone. Descriptive analysis techniques were used for conducting this research. From the nine selected districts, 1,350 producers, 115 traders and 10 experts/professionals were taken as a sample using convenience sampling techniques. The interviewer administered questionaire and field observations were employed for the fruit of this study. The finding showed that, although the North Shewa Zone has prospected potential in producing Mung bean and supplied to Ethiopia commodity exchange market, currently its production amount is low due to production and marketing challenges. The unpredictable rainfall, prevalence of pests and diseases, lack of input supply and development, and lack of proper storage and handling were among the identified production challenges. On the other hand, it is identified that low level of local consumption, inappropriate market chain, lack of market information, price impulsiveness, lack of stakeholder's commitment, limited market promotion and lack of finance were major marketing problems for Mung bean products. In line with this, season and quality were the main determining factors of the price of the product. Lower bargaining power of producers relative to traders makes them to earn less out of it.

The major objective of this 90 days vermicomposting work was to evaluate the performance of epigeic earthworms, Dendrobaena veneta, to alter and change four commonly dumped and littered solid wastes in Ethiopian cities and towns into a high quality vermicompost. The experiments were conducted in cylindrical plastic containers with 26 cm depth and 53 cm width under shade. All containers were perforated on the sides for aeration as well as bottom for leachate drainage purpose. The wastes were mixed with cow dung in 3:1 ratio and treated with D. veneta in the following waste and worm mass proportion: 9 kg of vegetable waste treated with 130 g of worms, 9 kg of enset waste treated with 130 g of worms, 5 kg of coffee husk treated with 70 g of worms, 8 kg of khat waste treated with 115 g of worms. Results from all beddings treated by this earthworm species show that total Kjeldhal nitrogen (TKN) increased by 68 to 95%, total potassium (TK) increased between 51 and 76%, total phosphorus (TP) increased between 76 and 100% while total organic carbon (TOC) decreased between 35.3 and 38.5%, the C: N ratio reduced between 62 and 65.5% and considerable reduction was also observed in pH value of the final product. The findings from this experiment indicate that vermicomposting could be one good option to improve solid waste management performance of Ethiopian cities and towns through the production of excellent bio-fertilizer for agronomic purpose.

The major objective of this research was to unveil the challenges of domestic livestock marketing in the pastoralist are of Awash Fentale wereda in due emphasis of local beliefs and clan conflicts. To address this issue, qualitative research approach was employed. In order to secure dependable and reliable data, interviews, focus group discussions, and participatory observation were conducted. The study depicted that livestock marketing was profoundly affected by the local beliefs/culture of the pastoralist that is, holding large number of live animals as a status of symbol. Donkey was not considered as valuable assets. Offering this live animal to the market is also considered as shameful practice. Connected with culture, young men were getting involved in the raiding of live animals of other clan so as to get social recognition or for the sake of revenging their counter parts. The occurrence of clan conflicts affected the movement of pastoralist to the market place as well as in search of water and rangelands, though it was happing infrequently. Finally, the frequently occurring intra clan disputes affected the supply of live animals to the market, the free flow of marketing information between and among the community members, limit the scope of markets, among other things.

Lepidium sativum L. (family Brassicaceae), is underutilized medicinal plant with worldwide distribution. In Ethiopia, L. sativum occurs in all regions and agro-ecologies at different altitudinal ranges. The study was conducted to assess the genetic diversity of L. sativum populations from Ethiopia using molecular marker and agronomic traits. Molecular data generated from inter simple sequence repeat bands recorded was used for computing gene diversity, percent polymorphism, Shannon diversity index and analysis of molecular variance. Moreover, the inter simple sequence repeat data was used to construct unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean, neighbor joining trees and principal coordinate plot using Jaccard's coefficient. Tigray and Amhara L. sativum populations showed higher gene diversity (0.24) and Shannon information index (0.35). Both unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean and principal coordinate analysis showed very weak grouping among individuals collected from the same regions. Generally, Tigray and Amhara regions showed moderate to high diversity in inter simple sequence repeat analysis. Different geographical regions of Ethiopia, showed different levels of variation; thus, conservation priority should be given to those regions that have genetic diversity. This result also indicates the presence of genetic diversity that can be exploited to improve the productivity of L. sativum in Ethiopia.

Nigella sativa L. (commonly known as black cumin) belonging to family Rannunculaceae is an important medicinal plant with worldwide distribution. In Ethiopia, N. sativa occurs in all regions and agro-ecologies at different altitudinal ranges. This plant has a lot of importance in Ethiopia. However, there is no information available on molecular genetic diversity of this crop in respect to Ethiopia. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the genetic diversity of black cumin populations collected from Amhara, Oromia, Tigray, Benshangul and South Nation's Nationality People regions of Ethiopia using ISSR marker. A total of 84 black cumin accessions were obtained from Institute of Biodiversity Conservation (IBC). The ISSR marker was used for computing gene diversity, percent polymorphism, Shannon diversity index and AMOVA. Overall, accessions from Oromia showed the highest gene diversity (H = 0.35) and Shannon information index (I= 0.52), followed by Amhara with gene diversity and Shannon index values of (0.35) and (0.51), respectively. NJ and UPGMA results showed strong grouping among accessions collected from the Oromia and Amhara region. The five geographical regions of Ethiopia showed different levels of genetic variation. Thus, conservation priority should be given for those regions that have low genetic diversity.

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