Mid and high land altitude impact on Enset (Ensete ventricosum) landraces fiber‘s chemical and mechanical properties in Southern Ethiopia

Enset (Ensete ventricosum) is a food crop in Southern Ethiopia that produces fiber as a by-product during food processing, which can substitute natural fibers. Nevertheless, limited studies have been done on varied landraces’ of Enset fiber characteristics grown at different altitudes. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of land altitude on Enset fiber chemical and mechanical properties. Data were collected from 10 landraces of sixty plants, and fibers were extracted using traditional methods. Samples were conditioned, prepared, and tested. Chemical and mechanical properties including ash, cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin, elongation at break, tensile force, and breaking tenacity were assessed. Data were evaluated using R statistical software. The findings showed significantly high levels of ash (8.61%), cellulose (52.72%), lignin (3.9%), and hemicellulose (20.29%) content in the ‘Kiticho’ and ‘Ado’ landraces at mid-altitudes, as well as ‘Ganticha’ and ‘Kiticho’ at high altitudes, respectively. The FTIR spectra revealed the presence of various functional groups associated with lignin, hemicellulose, and cellulose. Mechanical property analysis revealed that the ‘Ganticha’ landrace from high altitude showed longer elongation (2.93%). The ‘Gossalo’ landrace from high altitude had a tensile strength of 104.56 cN/tex, which is superior to Abaca and Banana fiber (77.3 and 42.8 cN/tex), respectively. These findings suggest that land altitude influences Enset fiber quality, with high-altitude landraces potentially serving as superior fiber sources. Enset fibers have the potential to be used as natural fiber reinforcements to enhance mechanical properties in eco-friendly fiber-based applications. However, further research involving a broader range of Enset landraces and various assessment methods is necessary to fully explore their properties and potential applications.