Proposals of non-linear models to adjust in vitro gas production at different incubation times in cassava genotypes

The present study aimed to propose new two-compartment models from the combination of the Gompertz, Logistic and Von Bertalanffy models and to identify between Gompertz and Logistic models, in their uni and two-compartiment versions, the one that presents the highest quality of fit to cumulative gas production curves of five cassava genotypes: Brasilia, Engana Ladrao, Dourada, Gema de Ovo e Amansa Burro. The gas production readings were 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 17, 20, 24, 28, 32, 48, 72, and 96 hours after the start of the in vitro fermentation process. The estimation of the parameters for the models was made by the least squares method through the Gauss-Newton iterative process. The selection of the best model to describe the gas accumulation was based on the adjusted coefficient of determination, residual mean squares, mean absolute deviation, Akaike information criterion and Bayesian information criterion. Among the adjusted models, the proposed models were the best to describe the accumulation of gases over time according to the methodology and conditions under which this study was developed.