W. W. McMillian

INSECT DAMAGE AND AFLATOXIN CONTAMINATION IN PREHARVEST CORN: INFLUENCE OF GENOTYPE AND EAR WETTING

A corn, Zea mays L., hybrid with loose-husk characteristics developed for the Corn Belt and a hybrid with tight-husk characteristics developed for the South were evaluated in field plots for relati...

IMPACT OF HUSK TYPE AND SPECIES OF INFESTING INSECTS ON AFLATOXIN CONTAMINATION IN PREHARVEST CORN AT TIFTON, GEORGIA

The use of plants that resist insects has been suggested as a potential means of reducing aflatoxin contamination in some crops. Dent corn, Zea mays L., germplasm possessing the characteristic of a relatively tight, complete husk cover and germplasm possessing the characteristic of a relatively loose, incomplete husk cover on the ear were evaluated for 3 years at Tifton, GA, for aflatoxin contamination. In two of the three test years, corn ears with tight, complete husk cover sustained significantly lower mean amounts of aflatoxin than ears with loose, incomplete husk cover following artificial inoculation with Aspergillus flavus Link spores. Ears hand-infested with maize weevils, Sitophilus zeamais (Motschulsky), sustained significantly higher amounts of aflatoxin (329 ng·g−1) than ears infested with fall armyworms, Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith), (80 ng·g−1), European corn borers, Ostrinia nubilalis (Hubner), (71 ng·g−1), or corn earworms Heliothis zea (Boddie) (60 ng·g−1). Overall, ears in the che...