Abstract

Five experimental maize hybrids with husk tightness rating on a scale of one (relatively tight) to four (relatively loose) were evaluated for preharvest kernel aflatoxin contamination in Iowa, Missouri, and Georgia. Hybrids were exposed to treatments of European corn borer (ECB), Ostrinia nubilalis (Hubner); corn earworm (CEW), Heliothis zea (Boddie); Aspergillus flavus (AF) Link ex Fr., and combinations of each insect and the pathogen. A control consisted of hybrid plots with no treatment. Each location differed significantly in the parts per billion of aflatoxin contamination, with geometric means of 4, 30, and 214 in Iowa, Missouri, and Georgia samples, respectively. Interactions among locations, hybrids, infestations, and infestation/inoculation treatments were not significant. There was no significant difference in aflatoxin contamination among treatments, but mean values for ECB-infested samples were of lower magnitude than for CEW-infested samples, whether they were inoculated with A. flavus or not. Results demonstrated that kernels of tight-husked hybrids contained significantly less aflatoxin contamination than did those of loose-husked ones.

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