A note on prediction of maize stover quality by near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) technique

Near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) technique was investigated as a means of predicting quality parameters in semi-exotic maize stover. These parameters included neutral detergent fibre (NDF) and in vitro dry matter (DM) digestibility. Samples of semi-exotic maize stover were formed by crossing the exotic material Across 8443 La Posta with inbred Mo 17. An InfraAlyzer 450 (Bran+Luebbe) was used for the study. Calibration equations were obtained by multiple linear regression from 162 samples and verified with 18 additional samples. The coeffcients of multiple correlation obtained were 0.92 for NDF and 0.93 for DM digestibility and the standard errors of calibration were 1.30 and 2.56, respectively. The study showed sufficient accuracy in the prediction of NDF and digestible DM content in semi-exotic maize stover for use in the plant breeding programme.