Abstract
Fungal mycotoxins are important contaminants of agricultural commodities that pose serious concerns to producers, consumers and exporters. Aflatoxin is a carcinogenic metabolite produced by the fungiAspergillus flavusandA. parasiticus. These fungi and other mould species living in the soil contaminate several crops including maize. This study was undertaken with the following objectives: (i) to assess the presence ofA. flavusand other moulds in Ghanaian soil; (ii) to determine the distribution and density ofA. flavusunder three agro‐ecologies noted for major maize production; and (iii) to assess the effect of percentage of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) and soil pH onA. flavuspopulation densities and diversity in the isolates found across the agro‐ecologies. The data showed seven moulds that were common across the agro‐ecologies. Significant differences (P < 0.05) were observed in theA. flavusdensity and distribution within and across these agro‐ecologies. Fumesua soils recorded the highest levels ofA. flavus(1.185 × 103 cfu g−1) while Akomadan recorded the least (9.76 × 102 cfu g−1). Percentage available C, N and soil pH did not significantly influenceA. flavusdensity. TheA. flavusisolates identified in this study varied in genetic sequence within the aflatoxin gene cluster, but these differences were not distinguishable by origin.
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