Assessment of Maize (Zea mays) Genotypes for Seed Metrics, Agronomic Performance, Yield and Nutritional Content in the Southern Savanna Agro-ecological Zone of Nigeria (Wukari as Case Study)

Abstract

Maize is ranked as one of the cereal crops with high yield potential globally and may be considered very important for countries like Nigeria, where there is an increasing demand for food to meet the demand of its teeming population. Five varieties of maize (Sammaz 52, M1217, M1155, Oba 98 and Oba super II) obtained seed companies and mostly grown in Wukari were evaluated during the 2020/2021 cropping seasons for yield, agronomic performance, seed metrics and nutritional quality at the Research and Teaching Farm of the Federal University Wukari, Taraba State. Having four replications, the experiment was set up using Randomized complete Block Design (RCBD). Obtained data on agronomic characters, yield and nutrient qualities revealed significant differences among the varieties for days to tasseling, silking, grain yield, nutritional content, number of nodes, ear height (cm), hundred seed weight (g), number of seed rows, seed length at P>0.05. Height at matirity showed significant difference, with Oba98 having the highest (195.25 cm) value. M1217 recorded superiority (24.95g) over the other varieties for 100 seed weight. Laboratory Analysis was conducted to determine the essential amino acid and nutritional content of the five maize varieties. There was a significant variation in the crude protein content of the five varieties with the SAMMAZ52 having the highest value (13.14%). Oba 98 recorded highest essential amino acid such as Methionine (2.39), Lysine (2.33) and Tryptophan (1.43) over the other varieties assessed.