Research Publications (Food Safety)

Abstract Maize grain production in the tropics is affected by Fusarium verticillioides, leading to significant losses in yield and quality. Fungicides are commonly used to control foliar diseases and increase grain yield, but have limited efficacy against F. verticillioides and may even stimulate the fungus to produce mycotoxins. Biocontrol can reduce F.

Abstract The province of Isabela is the top maize producer in the Philippines. The intensive cultivation and the tropical climate in the region may favour fungal growth and aflatoxin contamination in maize grains. Thus, the study aimed to determine the occurrence of aflatoxin and mycotoxigenic Aspergillus species in maize varieties in this region.

Fungicides in maize production under tropical conditions reduce losses from foliar diseases, but only a few reduce ear rot incidence or mycotoxin contamination in kernels. Biocontrol agents (BCAs) may reduce postharvest losses but their efficacy has not been demonstrated in field conditions. Here, we evaluated the use of bacterial isolates in tandem with fungicides on Fusarium verticillioides incidence and fumonisin content.

A new sprout decay and seedling stunting disease of unknown aetiology in upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) affecting nearly 5%–10% of young seedlings was noticed in vertisols of central Vidarbha (Maharashtra state, India) in July of 2017. The bacterium was consistently isolated from diseased seedlings and identified with a polyphasic method of characterization, including morphological, physiological, biochemical and 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis.

Anthracnose and grapevine leaf spot are the most important fungal diseases of fox grape in Brazil caused by Sphaceloma ampelinum and Pseudocercospora vitis, respectively. Severe attacks of either diseases can affect the yield in the current and subsequent years. Synthetic fungicides are recommended to control these pathogens in the field but may be harmful to the environment and human health over time and select for fungicide‐resistant pathogen populations.

The phenotypic variation in an array of pathogen isolates in natural environments can be partitioned into genotypic variation and environmental plasticity. The present study uses a mixed‐model approach to partition the relative contribution of both factors among isolates of Fusarium culmorum from natural field populations in various environments.