DOI: 10.5061/dryad.sbcc2frj9
title: Optimizing maize yield in West and Central Africa

description: A study was conducted in four different environments of Ghana. The aim was
 to optimize maize by developing maize hybrids tolerant of high plant
 density. The hybrids were evaluated under three plant densities, namely,
 high (88,888 plants/ha), medium (66,666 plants/ha), and low (53,333
 plants/ha). The experimental design was 8 x 6 alpha lattice with split
 plot. The experiment was replicated two times in each of the four
 environments. Data on different phenotypic traits were collected either by
 measuring or counting.
description: The data are collected from field experiments. Most of them were
 directly entered into Excel sheets using a tablet in the field, but some
 were recorded into a hard copy of data collecting sheets. Some data were
 transformed, but both the original and the transformed data are all
 available in the Excel file. 
description: ## Optimizing_maize_yield_in_West_and_Central_Africa
 [https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.sbcc2frj9](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.sbcc2frj9) ## Description of the data and file structure The data are phenotypic data of maize hybrids.  The data are collected from four environments. The environments are written in full in the excel, except “Legon minor season” which is written as Legon_Mi, and “Legon off season” which is written as Legon_off. The data are put in one Excel file, but two separate sheets. The first excel sheet has data which were collected during harvesting and after harvest, and the second excel sheet has data which were collected before harvesting. All the data were collected from four environments, except days to maturity, chlorophyll content, and tassel size which were determined only from one, two, and three environments, respectively. For the environments where these parameters (traits) were not collected, the Excel cells are filled with "n/a". Plant Density (PD), Environment, and Genotypes are factors (independent variables) while the others are dependent variables. "**Rep"** is the replication of each treatment in each environment while "**Block"** is the incomplete block within plant density within each environment. ### Files and variables #### File: Optimizing maize yield in West and Central Africa **Description:**  ##### Variables * Rep: is replication within each environment * Block: is incomplete block with replication and environment * Plant Density (PD): is independent variable  * Environment: is independent variable  * Genotype: is independent variable  * Ear per plant (EPP): the average number of ears per plant * Percentage of barren plants (BP): the percentage of plants with no ears or no kernels in the ear * Ear length (EL): the average length (cm) of an ear * Filled ear length (FEL): the average length (cm) of an ear filled with kernels * Ear diameter (ED): the average diameter (mm) of an ear * Number of rows per ear (RPE): the average number of rows in an ear * Number of kernels per row (KPR): the average number of kernels in a row * Number of kernels per ear (KPE): the average number of kernels in an ear * Shelling percentage (SP): average percentage of grain weight to the average weight of unshelled ear weight * Hundred kernel weight (HKW): the average weight (g) of hundred kernels  * Yield: The average yield (t/ha) * Yield per plant (YPP): average yield per plant (g) * Days to 50 % anthesis (DA): the number of days from planting until 50 % plants start anthesis * Days to 50 % silking (DS): the number of days from planting until 50 % plants start silking * Anthesis-silking interval (ASI): the number of days from 50 % anthesis to 50 % silking  * Root lodging percentage (RL):  the number of plants lodged from the root to the total number of plants * Stem lodging percentage (SL): the number of plants with broken stem below the ear to the total number of plants * Number of upper leaf (ULN): the average number of leaves above the ear of a plant * Leaf angle (LA): the angle (°) between the vertical stem and the leaf above the ear of a plant * Plant height (PH): the length (cm) from the ground to the lowest branch of the panicle * Ear height (EH): the length (cm) from the ground to the node where the upper ear emerged * plant height to ear height ratio (PH/EH): the ratio of plant height to the ear height  * stem diameter (SD): the average diameter (mm) of the second internode from the ground * Number of tassel branches (TBN): the average number of branches in a panicle * Tassel Length (TL): the average length (cm) from the lowest tassel branch to the upper top end of the tassel * Tassel branch length (TBL): the average length (cm) of the lowest and the upper tassel branches * Tassel size (TS): the product of tassel branch number and tassel branch length * Chlorophyll content (CHC): the chlorophyll content (SPAD value) of the leaf above the upper ear * Days to maturity (DM): the number of days from date of planting until the husk of 90% of plants turn into yellow.   ## Code/software The data are normal excel files