Sidama Zone is found in the Southern Nation Nationalities and People Regional State of Ethiopia. The zone has thirty-three districts. Wild edible plants are means of survival during war, political unrest, and food insecurity in this Zone. The objective of this research is to describe indigenous knowledge about wild edible plants based age, gender and education level in Hula district. Data on the use of wild edible plant were collected through semi structured interviews with key informants. The textual data were coded, quantified and analyzed with R software. A total of 50 wild edible plants belonging to 46 genera and 31 botanical families were reported in Hula district. Families Moraceae (12.5%), Rosaceae (12.5%), Rubiaceae (9.5%), Fabaceae (9.5%) and Solanaceae (9.5%) were found in the area. About 68% of the wild edible plants were trees. These wild edible plants were marketable. Further more some of the wild edible plants have medicinal values for human and livestock diseases. The popular food-category of wild edible plants is fruit eaten raw, and herbs eaten cooked as vegetables. There is significant difference (p<0.05) on the knowledge of wild edible plants between different sex and age groups. Social, economic and cultural factors contributed for consumption and avoidance of some edible wild plants. The poor communication system, on the other hand, has hindered the knowledge transfer from elders to youngsters and among different genders. The demand is growing for most of the wild plants regarded as local specialties, and reflect regional and cultural identity.

Barley is the fifth most important food crop in Ethiopia. The genetic relationship and population structure studies of barley are limited to gene bank collections. Therefore, this study fills a gap by investigating the selection, consumption, economic value, genetic diversity, and population structure of farm-collected barley from the Gumer district of the Gurage Zone, which has received little attention. The information on the use of barley in the study area was collected using semi-structured interviews and questionnaires. 124 households of 11 kebeles, the smallest community unit, were interviewed. Barley landraces collected were compared with those collected from Japan, the United States (USA), and other Ethiopian locations. Illumina iSelect (50K genotyping platform) was used to identify single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) (20,367). Thirty landraces were found in Gumer. Burdaenadenber had the highest on-farm Shannon index estimate (2.0), followed by Aselecha (1.97) and Enjefo (1.95). Aselecha and Fetazer had the highest (44%) and the lowest (29%) richness values, respectively. High and low Simpson index values were found in Aselecha (84%) and Wulbaragenateretero (79%), respectively. The neighbor-joining tree revealed that Gumer landraces formed a separate subcluster with a common ancestral node; a sister subcluster contained barley landraces from Japan. According to the population structure analysis, barley landraces from Gumer differed from Japan and the United States. The principal component analysis revealed that US barley was the most distant group from Gumer barley. The markers’ allele frequencies ranged from 0.10 to 0.50, with an average value of 0.28. The mean values of Nei’s gene diversity (0.38) and the polymorphic information content (0.30) indicated the presence of high genetic diversity in the samples. The clustering of accessions was not based on geographic origin. Significant genetic diversity calls for additional research and analysis of local barley diversity because the selection and use of barley in Ethiopia would have been affected by the preference of ethnic groups.

Guatemala’s wild avocado germplasm holds vital genetic value, but lacking conservation strategies imperils it. Studying its diversity is pivotal for conservation and breeding. The study aimed to comprehensively assess the wild avocado germplasm in Guatemala by combining phenotypic and genotypic data and to create a core collection for conservation and future breeding programs. A total of 189 mature avocado trees were sampled across Guatemala’s northern, southern, and western regions. Morphological characteristics were documented, and genetic diversity was assessed using 12 SSR loci. The investigated germplasm revealed three distinct genetic clusters, exhibiting an average gene diversity of 0.796 and a 7.74% molecular variation among them. The samples showed various morphological characteristics that indicate the presence of three avocado races in Guatemala. The weak correlation between phenotypic and genotypic distances highlighted their independence and complementary nature. The joint matrix effectively integrated and captured genotypic and phenotypic data for comprehensive genetic diversity analysis. A core collection comprising 20% of total accessions that captured maximum genetic diversity was formed. This study exposed wild Guatemalan avocados’ genetic diversity, morphological traits, and conservation significance. Integrated data capture via clustering validates holistic genetic insight for conservation and breeding strategies.