Crop Science Grow Your Career with CSSA
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

Published in Crop Sci 18:921-924 (1978)
© 1978 Crop Science Society of America
677 S. Segoe Rd., Madison, WI 53711 USA
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Lillehoj, E. B.
Right arrow Articles by Bockholt, A. J.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow Articles by Lillehoj, E. B.
Right arrow Articles by Bockholt, A. J.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by Lillehoj, E. B.
Right arrow Articles by Bockholt, A. J.

Aflatoxin Contamination of Corn Before Harvest: Aspergillus flavus Association with Insects Collected from Developing Ears

E. B. Lillehoj1, D. I. Fennell1, W. F. Kwolek2, G. L. Adams1, M. S. Zuber3, E. S. Horner3, N. W. Widstrom3, H. Warren2, W. D. Guthrie2, D. B. Sauer2, W. R. Findley2, A. Manwiller3, L. M. Josephson3 and A. J. Bockholt3

The study examined the relationship of Aspergillus flavus Link ex Fr. in insects collected from developing ears and aflatoxin contamination of the kernels of corn (Zea mays L.). In 1976 two hybrids adapted for growth in the South and two hybrids adapted to the Corn Belt were grown at 11 diverse locations in the USA. Planting and harvest dates were staggered to examine maturity factors. Of 1621 insect larvae collected, A. flavus was identified on 54 specimens (3.3%). The distribution A. flavus on the insects was relatively uniform between test locations and across maturity groups and hybrids. However, common occurrence of aflatoxin was restricted to corn grown in the South, particularly in hybrids not adapted to the region. A detailed study of Georgia-grown corn demonstrated that aflatoxin was not present in kernels 20 days post-flowering, but the toxin was routinely found in samples collected 40 days after flowering. The results show a broad geographical occurrence of A. flavus on insects feeding on developing corn but a distinct interregional difference in the contamination of the grain by aflatoxin.

Key Words: Fungal-corn insects • Zea mays L.

1 Research chemists, Northern Regional Research Center, SEAUSDA, Peoria, IL 61604.

2 Biometrician, North Central Region, SEA-USDA, stationed at the Northern Regional Research Center.

3 Research geneticist, SEA-USDA, Univ. of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65201; Dep. of Agronomy, Unix. of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611; research geneticist, Southern Grain Insects Laboratory, SEA-USDA, Tifton, GA 31794; research plant pathologist, SEA-USDA, Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN 47906; research entomologist, Ankeny Research Farm, SEA-USDA, Ankeny, IA 50021; research plant pathologist, U.S. Grain Marketing Research Center, SEA-USDA, Manhattan, KS 66502; research agronomist, Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, SEA-USDA, Wooster, OH 44691; Clemson Univ., Pee Dee Exp. Stn., Florence, S. C. 29501; Dep. of Plant and Soil Science, Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37901; Dep. of Soil and Crop Science, Texas Ag:M Univ., College Station, TX 77843; respectively.

Received for publication January 23, 1978.




HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
The SCI Journals Agronomy Journal Vadose Zone Journal
Journal of Plant Registrations Soil Science Society of America Journal
Journal of Natural Resources
and Life Sciences Education		 Journal of
Environmental Quality
Copyright © 1978 by the Crop Science Society of America.