Enset Research Database: A Comprehensive Bibliography of Ensete ventricosum Research (1790-2025)
Domaine:
agricultureType de record:
Summary
This dataset comprises a comprehensive, curated bibliography of 807 research publications on Ensete ventricosum (commonly known as Enset, False Banana, or Abyssinian Banana), a critical drought-tolerant food security crop native to Ethiopia and cultivated across East Africa. The database spans scholarly literature from 1790 to June 2026, capturing the full breadth of enset research history.
Background
Ensete ventricosum (Welw.) Cheesman (family Musaceae) is a perennial monocarpic plant that serves as a staple or co-staple food for over 20 million people in the Ethiopian Highlands. Despite its critical role in food security, climate resilience, and sustainable agriculture, enset has been historically under-researched compared to other major crops. This database addresses that gap by systematically aggregating and organizing all available enset research outputs.
Dataset Structure
The database includes 807 records, each containing up to 21 fields of structured metadata:
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| id | Unique identifier (1-807) |
| authors | Author(s) names (individuals and groups) |
| title | Full publication title |
| year | Publication year (1790-2026) |
| publisher_country | Country of publisher |
| publisher_institution_category | Type of institution (University, NGO, Government, Private) |
| publisher / journal_name | Publisher name or journal title |
| index | Indexing databases (Scopus, Web of Science, etc.) |
| impact_factor | Journal impact factor (if available) |
| impact_category | High (H), Medium (M), or Low (L) impact |
| volume / issue | Journal volume and issue numbers |
| article_access | Open Access or Restricted |
| url | Direct link to publication (DOI or URL) |
| study_types | Research type (Research, Review, Book, Thesis, etc.) |
| study_category | Research category (Taxonomy, Genetics, Agronomy, etc.) |
| geographic_focus | Geographic region of study (Ethiopia, Africa, Global, etc.) |
| landraces_mentioned | Specific enset landraces/clones discussed |
| abstract | Publication abstract (when available) |
| overview | Key findings or summary |
Coverage
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Temporal coverage: 1790 – 2025
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Geographic coverage: Global, with emphasis on Ethiopia, Africa, India, and Southeast Asia
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Document types: Journal articles, books, book chapters, theses, conference papers, reports, reviews, preprints, and institutional publications
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Research categories: Taxonomy & Systematics, Genetics & Genomics, Production & Agronomy, Food Science & Fermentation, Ethnobotany & Indigenous Knowledge, Diseases & Pests, Biochemistry & Nutrition, Microbiota & Soil Science, History, Paleobotany, Socio-economics & Marketing, and Reviews & General
Sample Records
| id | Authors | Title | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cheesman, E. E. | Classification of the bananas: the genus Ensete Horan | 1947 |
| 2 | Baker, R. E. D.; Simmonds, N. W. | The genus ensete in Africa | 1953 |
| 3 | Smeds, Helmer | The Ensete planting culture of Eastern Sidamo, Ethiopia | 1955 |
| 302 | Harrison, James et al. | A draft genome sequence for Ensete ventricosum | 2014 |
| 513 | Borrell, James S. et al. | Enset in Ethiopia: a poorly characterized but resilient starch staple | 2019 |
Key Features of This Dataset
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Comprehensive coverage – 800+ records spanning over 235 years of research
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Structured metadata – 21 standardized fields for easy filtering and analysis
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Open access identification – Each record indicates whether the publication is freely available
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Direct links – URLs and DOIs provided for easy access to source publications
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Categorization – Publications classified by study type, category, and geographic focus
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Landraces tracking – Specific enset landraces mentioned in publications are recorded
Potential Uses
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Bibliometric analysis of enset research trends over time
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Identification of research gaps in enset science
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Literature review and systematic review support
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Citation analysis and impact assessment
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Reference management for enset researchers
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Educational resource for agricultural and food security courses
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Policy support for enset research prioritization
Methodology
The bibliography was compiled through:
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Systematic searches of academic databases (Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar, PubMed, AGRIS)
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Review of institutional repositories and university thesis databases
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Citation chaining from key enset publications
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Consultation with enset research experts and institutions (Areka Agricultural Research Center, Hawassa University, Arba Minch University, Wageningen University)
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Manual curation and deduplication of records
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Cross-verification of metadata against original sources
File Format
The dataset is provided as a CSV (Comma-Separated Values) file encoded in UTF-8, compatible with:
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Microsoft Excel
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Google Sheets
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R (read.csv)
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Python (pandas)
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Zotero, Mendeley, and other reference managers
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Any text editor or data analysis software
Version Information
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Version: 1.0
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Last updated: June 2026
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Number of records: 807
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Next planned update: Annually or as new publications become available
Citation
When using this dataset, please cite:
Mitiku Muanenda. (2026). Enset Research Database: A Comprehensive Bibliography of Ensete ventricosum Research (1790-2025) (Version 1.0) [Data set]. Zenodo. doi.org]
Related Resources
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Enset Research Search Engine: https://enset.wehenet.com/d…