Evaluation of Food-Grade Dent Corn Hybrids for Severity of Fusarium Ear Rot and Fumonisin Accumulation in Grain.

Fumonisins produced by Fusarium verticillioides (syn = F. moniliforme) and F. proliferatum have been associated with potentially serious toxicoses of animals and humans. Thus, hybrids with low fumonisin accumulation in grain will be valuable for the production of corn-based human food products. We evaluated 68 food-grade dent corn hybrids for severity of Fusarium ear rot and fumonisin accumulation in grain in inoculated trials in Urbana, IL in 2000 and 2001. Our inoculation technique was successful in initiating fumonisin accumulation that allowed discrimination among hybrids. We identified several hybrids that could have acceptable levels (<4 μg/g) of fumonisin accumulation in Illinois in most years. Twenty-six hybrids with low or high fumonisin accumulation in 2000 were reevaluated in noninoculated trials at three locations in Illinois in 2001. Fumonisin concentration in grain at all three locations was relatively low; thus, separation of hybrids was poor. At two locations, those hybrids with the highest fumonisin concentration in grain also had high concentrations following inoculation. However, one hybrid that had relatively low fumonisin concentration following inoculation had unacceptable levels of fumonisin (5 μg/g) in natural conditions. Therefore, hybrids need to be evaluated by inoculation and further evaluated at locations where the environment favors fumonisin accumulation.