Over The Horizon

That's Amaizing

Results of a New Zealand study have raised serious doubts about a common practice used internationally to evaluate new maize hybrids.

Fungal infection and mycotoxin contamination cause quality fluctuations in maize grain, and can even make the end product toxic. Typically, new maize hybrids are tested for resistance to Fusarium fungal attack and mycotoxin contamination by inoculating the immature silks with fungi.

Collaborative work by scientists at three CRIs has shown that Fusarium fungal infection starts early in the season in the stem and leaf axils of maize plants, with kernel infection occurring much later. Mycotoxin contamination mirrors this, and some other parts of the plant also show much higher levels of toxins than the kernels. These findings are at odds with the commonly held belief that the problems occur in kernels via the immature silks, and puts the testing procedure in doubt.