Abstract
The aim of yam breeders is to produce many hybrids, which can form the basis of selecting quality nutritional traits and other characteristics using certain agronomic criteria. Chemical methods are employed to determine the main constituents of yam, which are time-consuming, expensive, and involve sample destruction. However, the constraints of lengthy analysis time and the cost needed to analyze thousands of these genotypes are major constraints to yam breeding in Nigeria. This study was undertaken to develop and validate calibration equations on the Near-Infrared Reflectance Spectrophotometer (NIRS) for determining chemical compositions of selected yam genotypes. Equations developed for moisture, ash, protein, crude fiber, and tannin showed high coefficients of determination (R2) for the calibration curve (0.87, 0.84, 0.83, 0.80, and 0.89, respectively) and high to medium coefficients of determination in cross-validation (0.80, 0.68, 0.69, 0.68, and 0.50). The standard errors of calibration (SEC) and the standard errors in cross-validation (SECV) were low for most constituents. A total of 360 ascensions of yam flour were predicted for selected traits to test the equations, and the results were comparable with data from conventional methods. Results of this study have shown that NIRS could be a very useful tool to help yam breeders screen large sample sets using limited resources with very short time. This will enhance breeders’ rapid selection of genotypes at screening stage where many breeding lines are to be evaluated within the shortest time possible.
Highlights
Yam is a starchy staple food popularly grown in Africa, the Americas, the Caribbean, the South Pacific, and Asia
The dried flour was divided into two sub-samples; one sub-sample used for wet chemical analysis as a reference and the other for the collection of NIR SPECTRA. 2.2
This is more difficult with biological material such as yam samples, which are characterized by complex hydrogen bonding interactions between sugars, fatty acids, and proteins
Summary
Yam is a starchy staple food popularly grown in Africa, the Americas, the Caribbean, the South Pacific, and Asia. Yam contributes more than 200 dietary calories per capita daily for more than 150 million people in West Africa and serves as an important source of income to the people (Coursey, 1967; Babaleye, 2003) The main producer of this staple food is Nigeria with 71% of the world’s production (Eke-Ejiofor & Owuno, 2012). FAO statistics showed that about 48.7 million tons of yams were produced on 5 million hectares in about 47 countries worldwide in 2005, and 97% of this was in sub-Saharan Africa (FAO, 2013). West and Central Africa account for 94% of world production, with Nigeria producing 34 million tons. Yam has certain economic and social benefits as it is well integrated into the social, cultural, and religious lifestyles of consumers
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