Abstract
The food yield potential and ecological adaptation of three clones of Ensete ventricosum (Welw.) Cheesman were investigated and described. To determine the yield of the plant both the underground corm and aboveground pseudostem were extracted, pulverized, fermented, ground, and dried into flour in the form of 'Kocho '. After 40 months from planting, the average yields of the fermented product were 11950, 8868 and 7414 kg ha-1 year-1 for the 'Adow', 'Tuzuma' and 'Ferezae' clones, respectively.** This yield, however, is based on a five-year growth cycle following farmers' practice. The yield differences between clones were observed to be significant (P = 0.05). Compared with fresh weight the yield recovered as fermented product ranged from 24 to 30%. A study of the effect of length of fermentation time showed initial decrease of both carbohydrate and Ca content. Very little additional change in the amount of these nutrients was apparent when fermentation continued to 16 weeks. The multiple cropping pattern of the ensat farming complex, where the clones were collected and evaluated, is also documented.
