Impact of the Environment to Biochemical Parameters of Six Genotypes Tubers of Tiger Nut (Cyperus esculentus L. Grown) Evaluated in Burkina Faso

Abstract

Food and nutritional insecurity remains a major challenge, increasing the need to characterise underutilised crops with potential dietary value. This study evaluated the influence of production environment on the biochemical composition of tubers from six tiger nut (Cyperus esculentus L.) genotypes grown at Ouagadougou and Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso, during the 2021–2022 agricultural season. Dried tubers were milled into coarse flour, and moisture, ash, protein, lipid, carbohydrate, β-carotene, and energy values were determined using standard analytical procedures. Analysis of variance and genotype × environment analysis were used to assess biochemical variability and environmental effects, while GGE biplot analysis was applied to compare genotype performance across locations. Across the two environments, lipid content ranged from 21.46% to 33.82%, carbohydrate content from 53.94% to 63.82%, protein content from 0.05% to 4.67%, ash content from 2.62% to 10.49%, and moisture content from 3.59% to 7.89%. β-Carotene content ranged from 0.16 to 0.28 µg/100 mg, and energy value ranged from 440.33 to 535.02 kcal/100 g. The environmental effect was not significant for carbohydrate or ash content but was significant for protein, lipid, moisture, and β-carotene contents. Genotypic and genotype × environment effects also contributed to the observed variation. The findings indicate that biochemical performance differed among genotypes and locations, supporting the evaluation of tiger nut materials for varietal improvement and crop promotion in Burkina Faso.