Camels play a crucial role in Ethiopia's livestock production and livelihoods, yet research on their phenotypic diversity is limited. This hinders the development of breeding programs and conservation strategies. This study aimed to address this gap by analyzing qualitative morphological traits in Ethiopian camel populations using multiple correspondence analysis (MCA), and to identify significant traits for potential use in breeding and conservation programs. Data on seven qualitative morphological traits were collected from 300 mature camels (150 from each district). Significant differences were found between districts for facial traits, specifically nose shape (p = 0.0153) and face profile (p = 0.0133). Other traits, including coat colour, hair type, ear orientation, and lip shape, did not show significant differences. MCA identified two main dimensions, explaining 26% of the total variance. The first dimension was associated with facial traits, while the second dimension was associated with coat colour and hair type. This study provides valuable insights into the morphological diversity of Ethiopian camel populations. The findings suggest that facial traits may be useful for differentiating camel populations and could be considered in breeding and conservation programs. Further research is needed to explore the genetic basis of these morphological differences.

The experiment was conducted to assess the adaptability of Lemon balm in different ecologies of Ethiopia during 2017/2018 and also during the 2022/2023 cropping seasons. The RCBD design in four replications was used and two harvesting cycles were considered for evaluation of the performance of the lemon balm for agronomic and economic traits. Data on plant height, fresh leaf weight per plant, fresh stem weight per plant, fresh leaf-to-stem ratio, fresh leaf yield per hectare, and dry leaf yield per hectare were recorded and the recorded experimental data were statistically analyzed by analysis of variance (ANOVA) using SAS PROC GLM (2002) at P < 0.05. Differences between means were assessed using the least significance difference (LSD) test at P < 0.05. During the 2017/18 cropping season, ANOVA showed lemon balm performance varied significantly due to the harvest cycle and location. The first harvest cycle was superior in all traits considered for evaluation compared to the second harvest cycle. At the Debrezeit testing location there were very highly significant (p<0.001) results for fresh leaf weight per plant, fresh stem weight per plant, fresh leaf yield per hectare, and dry leaf yield per hectare except fresh to stem ratio. Similarly, the harvest cycle and location exerted significant variation during the 2022/2023 cropping season. The first harvest cycle was significantly higher in all traits again, while the Manche experimental site was significantly higher in dry leaf yield per hectare (2.83 tons per hectare). Therefore, the results of the current experiment showed that lemon balm can be produced in Ethiopia at various locations similar to the current testing site and we recommend the production of the existing lemon balm for similar agro-ecologies.