## 3 Results and Discussion
### Effect of Maturity on the Macroelement and Microelement Contents of Yellow-Fleshed Cassava Roots
\begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c c c c c c} \hline \hline \multirow{2}{*}{**Genotype**} & **Fe** & **Mn** & **B** & **Cu** & **Mo** & **Co** & **Ni** & **Zn** & **Al** \\ \cline{2-10}  & & & & & & & & & \\ \hline
00/0028 & 14.851 a & 21.261 a & 3.418 a & 5.040 abc & 0.837 a & 0.812 a & 3.325 a & 10.736 bed & 5.375 b \\
01/1181 & 14.465 ab & 14.576 cde & 3.366 a & 4.668 bc & 0.912 a & 0.912 a & 2.003 bede & 10.013 bcde & 7.281 ab \\
01/1206 & 8.683 bcde & 19.555 ab & 2.979 ab & 4.601 bc & 0.775 a & 1.436 de & 16.036 a & 5.852 ab \\
29/07/047 & 10.116 abc & 15.940 bc & 2.674 ab & 6.732 b & 0.675 a & 2.511 abc & 1.971 b & 4.750 b \\
99/2957 & 11.550 shed & 15.153 bcde & 2.855 d & 5.636 abc & 0.750 a & 0.750 a & 1.978 bcde & 9.999 bcde & 5.375 b \\
01/1404 & 7.343 de & 15.118 bcde & 2.831 ab & 5.012 abc & 0.751 a & 1.674 cde & 9.661 bcdefg & 5.711 ab \\
01/1417 & 9.109 abc & 12.846 e & 2.684 a & 3.929 bc & 0.675 a & 0.650 a & 2.203 bed & 11.505 b & 4.750 b \\
01/1380 & 6.568 bc & 10.510 der & 2.729 ab & 6.186 abc & 0.725 a & 0.712 a & 1.006 se & 10.248 bc & 6.297 ab \\
01/1635 & 13.218 abc & 12.000 cdef & 2.265 ab & 3.890 bc & 0.662 a & 0.662 a & 2.101 bcd & 7.745 gfi & 4.625 b \\
01/1659 & 8.882 bc & 14.891 bcde & 2.415 s & 5.274 bc & 0.662 a & 0.638 a & 1.645 cde & 9.108 bedeigd & 4.625 b \\
01/1423 & 11.038 abc & 13.335 dcd & 2.105 d & 4.195 b & 0.650 a & 0.652 a & 1.576 cde & 1.209 b & 4.500 b \\
01/1560 & 8.347 cde & 15.453 bcd & 2.230 ab & 3.890 bc & 0.650 a & 0.650 a & 2.300 bcd & 7.711 efi & 4.500 b \\
09/7585 & 7.336 de & 8.850 f & 2.114 & 3.633 bc & 0.687 a & 0.675 a & 2.079 bcd & 7.010 ffi & 4.875 b \\
01/1296 & 7.693 cde & 11.360 cdef & 2.363 ab & 3.061 c & 0.650 a & 0.660 a & 2.711 ab & 8.170 fdfg & 4.500 b \\
01/1231 & 8.561 cde & 11.210 cdef & 2.106 b & 4.373 bc & 0.663 a & 0.625 a & 1.866 bcde & 9.875 bcdef & 4.500 b \\
01/1551 & 7.414 de & 12.469 cdef & 2.106 b & 3.665 b & 0.662 a & 0.650 a & 1.578 cde & 9.732 bcdef & 4.500 b \\
01/1172 & 8.814 bc & 8.563 f & 2.254 ab & 3.325 c & 0.625 a & 0.600 a & 1.370 de & 6.495 b & 4.250 b \\
91/02324 (check) & 5.539 e & 10.343 gf & 2.107 b & 5.891 abc & 0.675 a & 0.675 a & 2.433 abc & 6.744 bfa & 4.865 b \\
30/572 (check) & 11.376 abcd & 10.841 def & 2.479 ab & 8.131 a & 0.755 a & 0.737 a & 1.356 de & 8.756 cdefgh & 9.379 a \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular} Mean values in the same column with different letters are significantly different at \(p<0.05\). Parameters were analysed in duplicate and expressed in mg/kg.  
\end{table} 
Table 7: Micromineral content of yellow cassava roots (trial set 2) by genotype. harvested at nine months after planting and reported that the values of sodium ranged from 22.3 to 34.9 mg 100 g\({}^{-1}\). In contrast, the values for potassium ranged from 817.3 to 1301.2 mg 100 g\({}^{-1}\)[24]. If compared with what was obtained in this study for cassava genotypes harvested at 9 months for both trials studied, the values of potassium in this study were higher and those of sodium lower. The difference could be due to the different genetic make-up of yellow-fleshed and white-fleshed cassava roots. This further confirmed that yellow-fleshed roots contain more macroelements than the white-fleshed roots, especially K. However, the values of the macroelements obtained at 12 months for trial 2 compared well with what [PERSON] et al. [22] reported for cassava roots harvested at 10 to 11 months. He reported that samples had an average magnesium content of 1153 mg/kg, sodium averaged at 66.4 mg/kg, potassium averaged at 8903 mg/kg, phosphorus averaged at 1284 mg/kg, and sulphur averaged at 273 mg/kg dry weight. However, the macroelement values for trial 1 at 12 months showed higher values than what was reported in the literature [22]. Figure 1c,d shows the levels of microelements in yellow-fleshed cassava roots by maturity (harvesting time) for both trial sets 1 and 2. For trial set 1, the study showed that there was a significant difference (\(p<0.05\)) in the concentration of Fe, Mn, B, and Ni at different maturity levels.