Fusarium diseases of maize associated with mycotoxin contamination of agricultural products intended to be used for food and feed

Abstract

Infections of maize with phytopathogenic and toxinogenic Fusarium spp. may occur throughout the cultivation period. This can cause different types of diseases in vegetative and generative organs of the plant. Along with these infections, mycotoxins are often produced and accumulated in affected tissues, which could pose a significant risk on human and animal health when entering the food and feed chain. Most important fungal species infecting European maize belong to the Fusarium sections Discolour and Liseola, the first being more prevalent in cooler and humid climate regions than the second predominating in warmer and dryer areas. Coexistence of several Fusarium spp. pathogens in growing maize under field conditions is the usual case and may lead to multi-contamination with mycotoxins like trichothecenes, zearalenone and fumonisins. The pathways how the fungi gain access to the target organs of the plant are extensively described in relation to specific symptoms of typical rot diseases regarding ears, kernels, rudimentary ears, roots, stem, leaves, seed and seedlings. Both Gibberella and Fusarium ear rots are of major importance in affecting the toxinogenic quality of grain or ear-based products as well as forage maize used for human or animal nutrition. Although rudimentary ears may contain high amounts of Fusarium toxins, the contribution to the contamination of forage maize is minor due to their small proportion on the whole plant dry matter yield. The impact of foliar diseases on forage maize contamination is regarded to be low, as Fusarium infections are restricted to some parts on the leaf sheaths and husks. Mycotoxins produced in rotted basal part of the stem may contribute to forage maize contamination, but usually remain in the stubbles after harvest. As the probability of a more severe disease progression is increasing with a prolonged cultivation period, maize should be harvested at the appropriate maturity stage to keep Fusarium toxin contamination as low as possible. Ongoing surveillance and research is needed to recognise changes in the spectrum of dominating Fusarium pathogens involved in mycotoxin contamination of maize to ensure safety in the food and feed chain.

Fungal Pathogens of Maize Gaining Free Passage Along the Silk Road

“…The cob has higher mycotoxin accumulation than the kernels [37,38], which indicates that fungus may subsequently use the cob as a route of passage to access more kernels [17,39]. High toxin levels in the cob could pose a greater risk to livestock which consume feeds containing whole cobs, such as silage.…”

Screening of strains of soil micromycetes – antagonists of fungal and bacterial plant pathogens

“…Ураження рослин грибами роду Fusariumосновна причина значних втрат зернових і картоплі (Iutynska et al, 2010). Ці фітопатогенні гриби здатні продукувати мікотоксини (фузарієву кислоту, трихотецени, зеараленон, фумонізин), які накопичуються в уражених тканинах рослин, що може представляти значний ризик для здоров'я людини та тварин під час їх застосування у продуктах харчування людини та кормах тварин (Basler, 2016;Shi et al, 2016;Oldenburg et al, 2017).…”

Methanolic Extracts from Cultivated Mushrooms Affect the Production of Fumonisins B and Fusaric Acid by Fusarium verticillioides

“…Fusarium verticillioides (Sacc.) Nirenberg is commonly isolated from diseased maize plants with symptoms of ear and kernel rot from tropical areas [ 3 ]. This species is known to be a producer of fumonisins and fusaric acid (FA) mycotoxins that are found in maize kernels [ 4 ].…”