WOOSTER, Ohio — The ongoing drought afflicting much of Ohio has
created conditions that are ripe for the development of a fungal
disease corn growers in the Buckeye State typically don’t see —
Aspergillus ear rot.The concern is that drought-stressed corn is
more susceptible to infection by Aspergillus flavus, an ear rot
fungus that produces a very potent group of carcinogenic
(cancer-causing) toxins called aflatoxins. Aflatoxins can be
harmful for animals or humans if used in corn for grain and
human food consumption, said Ohio State University Extension
plant pathologist Pierce Paul. Already, the disease has been
spotted in some corn in Indiana, which is experiencing severe
and extreme drought over much of the state, so Ohio growers
should start looking for signs of it in their cornfields, Paul
said.Growers can identify the disease by peeling back the husks
and looking for a yellowish green or gray-green mold growing
predominantly at the tip of the ear. This is largely because the
fungus enters through the s