A Dutch field survey on fungal infection and mycotoxin
concentrations in maize. Summary of "A Dutch field survey on
fungal infection and mycotoxin concentrations in maize."
Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites produced by fungi that can
cause adverse health effects. Due to climate change,
temperatures are expected to rise and changes in rainfall
patterns are foreseen. These developments may increase fungal
occurrence and mycotoxin concentrations in maize. It is
therefore useful to monitor mycotoxin levels in maize and record
the accompanying agronomic factors and weather parameters. This
paper describes a field survey in the Netherlands in which
information on soil, cultivar, green manure, tillage as well as
sowing, emergence, flowering and harvest dates of silage maize
were collected from 148 growers. A small number of these growers
(42 in total) were visited to collect maize samples revealing
that 50% of the samples were contaminated with Fusarium species
and mycotoxins were detected in 25% of the samples.