Proximate Composition of Some New Sweet Potato Varietes Grown at Gidan Kwano, Minna, Niger State, Nigeria

Abstract

1Department of Crop Production, School of Agriculture and Agricultural Technology, Federal University of Technology, Minna, Niger State. 2Department of Crop Production, Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University, Lapai, Niger State. 3Department of Food Science, Federal University of Technology Minna, Niger State, Nigeria. Corresponding Author E- mail: davslm@yahoo.com Abstract This study investigated the, proximate composition of some new sweet potato varieties grown in Gidan Kwano, Minna, Niger State, Nigeria. Sweet potato is an important security crop in Nigeria because it is less expensive to grow. They are cultivated via their vines. Little studies have really being carried out to identify the chemical composition of these sweet potato varieties - Solo-gold, Mother’s delight, purple fleshed sweet potato and a local white fleshed potato. four varieties of sweet potatoes (White fleshed sweet potato (WFSP), Orange fleshed Sweet Potato (OFSP1), Purple fleshed sweet potato (PFSP), and Orange fleshed sweet potato (OFSP2)) were taken as the treatments. The treatments were arranged in a randomized complete block design and replicated three times in the field. The result showed that proximate composition of the fresh and dry samples of the four selected sweet potato varieties was significantly different among the varieties for all the parameters. The study showed that all the tested sweet potato varieties had different levels of proximate and phytochemical contents. However, high contents of moisture, ash, crude fibre, dry matter, beta carotene, phenols and anthocyanin were found in the Purple Fleshed Sweet Potato variety. This variety is therefore recommended for farmers at Gidan Kwano.