Background: People in Sekela District, like others in Ethiopia, have a long tradition of using medicinal plants totreat human and livestock ailments. However, medicinal plants and their associated indigenous knowledge arecurrently under threat. Thus, the study was carried out to compile ethnobotanical knowledge about medicinalplants in the district.Methods: A total of 352 informants from six study sub-districts (328 general and 24 key informants) were selectedrandomly and purposefully. Individual interviews, focus group discussions, guided field walks, and marketsurveys were used to acquire ethnobotanical data using semi structured interview questions. The informantconsensus factor (ICF), fidelity level, preference ranking, direct matrix ranking, medicinal use, and Analysis ofVariance were used.Results: A total of 121 medicinal plants belonging to 106 genera and 55 families were documented. The Aster-aceae family had the most species with 11 (9 %), followed by Lamiaceae with 8 (6.6 %), while leaves were themost utilized part with 56 (37 %). The majority of the remedies were made as a concoction (32, 17 %) anddelivered orally (98, 57 %). There was a statistically significant difference in indigenous knowledge on medicinalplants among genders, ages, marital status, educational levels, and occupations (p ˂ 0.05). The dermatologicaldisease categories had the highest ICF (0.92) in human ailments.Conclusion: The study revealed that Sekela District is rich in medicinal plants for treating human and livestockailments, and has indigenous knowledge to utilize these resources effectively. However, overgrazing, agriculturalexpansion, and improper harvesting techniques threaten medicinal plants. This signals the need to make sig-nificant efforts to raise public awareness about their conservation and sustainable use.
Keywords: Ailments; Ethnobotany; Indigenous knowledge; Sekela; Traditional medicinal plants

Background: People in Sekela District, like others in Ethiopia, have a long tradition of using medicinal plants totreat human and livestock ailments. However, medicinal plants and their associated indigenous knowledge arecurrently under threat. Thus, the study was carried out to compile ethnobotanical knowledge about medicinalplants in the district.Methods: A total of 352 informants from six study sub-districts (328 general and 24 key informants) were selectedrandomly and purposefully. Individual interviews, focus group discussions, guided field walks, and marketsurveys were used to acquire ethnobotanical data using semi structured interview questions. The informantconsensus factor (ICF), fidelity level, preference ranking, direct matrix ranking, medicinal use, and Analysis ofVariance were used.Results: A total of 121 medicinal plants belonging to 106 genera and 55 families were documented. The Aster-aceae family had the most species with 11 (9 %), followed by Lamiaceae with 8 (6.6 %), while leaves were themost utilized part with 56 (37 %). The majority of the remedies were made as a concoction (32, 17 %) anddelivered orally (98, 57 %). There was a statistically significant difference in indigenous knowledge on medicinalplants among genders, ages, marital status, educational levels, and occupations (p ˂ 0.05). The dermatologicaldisease categories had the highest ICF (0.92) in human ailments.Conclusion: The study revealed that Sekela District is rich in medicinal plants for treating human and livestockailments, and has indigenous knowledge to utilize these resources effectively. However, overgrazing, agriculturalexpansion, and improper harvesting techniques threaten medicinal plants. This signals the need to make sig-nificant efforts to raise public awareness about their conservation and sustainable use.
Keywords: Ailments; Ethnobotany; Indigenous knowledge; Sekela; Traditional medicinal plants

Erythrina brucei has been applied as a green manure to improve soil fertility in southern Ethiopia.It has been nodulated by indigenous rhizobia. The objectives of this study were to evaluate theeffects of E. brucei inoculation with microbial consortia consisted of Bradyrhizobium shewense,Acinetobacter soli and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF)on E. brucei growth, soil nitrogen andphosphorous status after application as a green manure.A field experiment was conducted byinoculating E. Brucei with different microbial consortia. E. brucei inoculated with the microbialconsortia were grown for 150 days. Its shoot length was measured at 60, 90, 120 and 150 daysafter planting. Then, plants were uprooted and mulched as a green manure. The soil nitrogen,available phosphorous and soil organic matter analysis were done. The experimental design wascompletely randomized block design with eight treatments comprised of three replications.Inoculated treatments did not show a significant (p < 0.05) difference in shoot length in the first60 days. However, shoot length was increased between 19.1 and 41.3 %, 10.5–43.4 % and8.7–37.6 %, respectively at 90, 120 and 150 days. The soil organic matter was improved in bothinoculated and un-inoculated treatments. The improvements in the soil organic matter of un-inoculated treatments may be due to the decomposition of un-inoculated plants biomass in thesoil. The B. shewense inoculation improved the soil nitrogen by 17 %. The soil phosphorous wasimproved in 57 % of inoculated treatments. The inoculation of E. brucei with microbial consortiaenhanced its growth and improved soil fertility when applied as a green manure. Inoculating thegreen manure legumes with symbiotically effective rhizobia and plant-beneficial microbes canenhance the growth of E. brucei and its nutrient uptake.
Keywords: Legumes, Soil fertility, Shoot length, Microbial inputs, Organic matter