Dataset on the Effects of Genotype, Location, and Planting Season on the Nutritional Composition and the Metabolizable Energy of Maize Hybrids

This study investigated the effects of genotype, location, and planting season on the advanced maize genotypes' proximate composition and metabolizable energy. Twenty-five hybrid maize genotypes and a local variety as control were harvested from five locations 100 days after planting for two seasons. The maize samples were sorted, cleaned and pulverized using a laboratory mill and were analyzed for nutritional compositions, total carbohydrates and metabolizable energy (ME) using standard laboratory methods. Moisture content, ash, fat, and protein had mean±sd 8.97±0.40%, 1.48±0.05%, 4.31±0.19, and 8.88±0.18 %, respectively. ME had a mean±sd of 379.77±2.17kJ while total carbohydrate had values ranging from 74.68 to 77.20%, with an average of 76.68%. Results showed that most of the variations expressed in the proximate compositions of the maize genotypes are not significantly (p>0.05) dependent on the genotypes. In contrast, locations significantly affected the maize genotypes' proximate and metabolizable energy (p0.05) of location by genotype interaction on the proximate and ME of the maize samples. The planting season also exhibited a significant (p<0.001) difference for all the proximate parameters. Fourteen out of the twenty-five maize hybrid genotypes were similar to the local variety in terms of proximate composition and metabolizable energy. Therefore, they could be recommended for advancement in the breeding stages for release for household and industrial uses.