Root exudates impact soil-plant-microbe interactions and play important roles in ecosystem functioning and plant growth. During early plant development the root rhizosphere may change drastically. For maize (Zea mays L.), one of the world's most important crop species, little is known about root exudation patterns during early plant development. We determined abundance and composition of root exudation among maize genotypes from five inbred lines across three early plant development stages (Emergence, V1-2, and V3-4). We characterized the exudates for non-purgeable organic carbon and performed non-targeted metabolomics with high-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS). Across all genotypes, plant development stage had a significant influence on both abundance and composition of exudates. Exudation rates (mg C per cm