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Ontario Grain Farmer Magazine

DON mycotoxin forecasting tool for corn

Principal Investigator: David Hooker

Research Institution: University of Guelph

Timeline: April 2019 – December 2021   

Objectives:

  • The ultimate goal of this project is to develop a DON prediction tool for use in corn, similar to the tool that was developed around 2000 for use in wheat. The tool will predict the risk of DON contamination in grain corn using weather, agronomic, and field-specific data.
  • This project will also investigate weather interactions with best agronomic management practices for reducing the risk of DON, such as the importance of hybrid selection, characterization of hybrid traits of importance using inoculated hybrid performance trials, the impact of ear insects on DON, and for reducing plant-to-plant variability in the field.

Impacts:

  • This project will produce a tool for farmers and the rest of the value chain to predict the risk of DON contamination in grain corn using weather, agronomic, and field-specific data. The DON prediction tool will provide: 1) a decision support tool for farmers to target the use of specific fungicide chemistries, and 2) the value chain with a warning to prepare for contaminated corn at harvest.
  • The project will also characterize hybrid traits for decision support in hybrid selection, and investigate plant-plant variability in developing best management practices for reducing the risk of DON in corn.
  • Reducing the risk of DON-contaminated corn would benefit many agricultural sectors and improve food safety. Contaminated corn affects: 1) the feed industry, especially swine, with consequences of feed refusal, low weight gain and immune deficiencies. Sourcing alternative feeds is expensive when on-farm production of corn is not suitable for feed; 2) the ethanol industry, which produces an important DDG commodity with significant economic value for sustaining ethanol production in Ontario and Canada; 3) the corn growers, who face significant grade discounts for high-DON corn; 4) the corn food industry and corn sweetener companies’ ability to meet Health Canada food safety DON mycotoxin requirements (for example), and last but not least 4) crop insurance (Agricorp); in 2018, Agricorp paid many growers $0.79/bushel to partially cover damages, and other growers to crop destruct thousands of acres in epidemic years due to unmarketable grain or lost yields.

Scientific Summary:

In corn, deoxynivalenol (DON) is a major mycotoxin produced by the same pathogen that causes Gibberella ear rot and Fusarium Head Blight in wheat. Corn may become contaminated with DON when the environment is favorable for Gibberella ear rot. These conditions occur nearly every year in localized areas across Eastern Canada (mainly in the Great Lakes Region of southern Ontario where most of the corn is produced in Canada); unfortunately, these areas are becoming larger in geographic impact each year resulting in more frequent epidemics such as Ontario experienced in 2006, 2011 and 2018.

In 2018, high concentrations of DON in corn caused an estimated $200 million loss to the industry through contamination of feed mainly for hogs, losses to the ethanol and sweetener industries with unmarketable DDGs (feed by-product), losses to corn growers with discounts at the elevator and end user, and losses to Agricorp through damage claims and crop destruction. Mitigating the impacts of DON has been a top priority of Grain Farmers of Ontario in recent years due to its impact on viability of corn production and processing in the province.

The main goal of this project is to produce a tool for farmers and the rest of the value chain to predict the risk of DON contamination in grain corn using weather, agronomic, and field-specific data. This tool would be similar to the tool that was developed around 2000 for use in wheat. The DON prediction tool that was developed for wheat was especially important as an early warning system for the industry before Fusarium Head Blight disease became visual and impacted yields at harvest, allowing growers to make better fungicide-application decisions based on risk. The model spurred new and better fungicide registrations (PMRA) and more FHB-tolerant wheat varieties. The same benefits and industry stimulant can be realized with a prediction tool in corn; however, it is well known that Gibberella ear rot and DON is much more complicated to predict in corn than in wheat; thus, many factors need to be considered (with a better understanding) for developing a predictive tool in corn.

The project will also characterize hybrid traits for decision support in hybrid selection, and also investigate plant-plant variability in developing best management practices for reducing the risk of DON in corn. In 2018, many agronomists have reported higher DON risk with plant-to-plant variability, but all observations were anecdotal.

Successful development of DON risk management tools will benefit many agricultural sectors: 1) the feed industry, especially swine, with consequences of feed refusal, low weight gain, immune deficiencies. Sourcing alternative feeds is expensive when on-farm production of corn is not suitable for feed; 2) the ethanol and corn sweetener/food industries, as the important DDG commodity has significant economic value for sustaining the ethanol industry in Ontario and Canada; 3) the corn growers, who face significant grade discounts for high-DON corn; and last but not least 4) crop insurance (Agricorp); in 2018, Agricorp paid many growers $0.79/bushel to partially cover damages, and other growers to crop destruct thousands of acres in epidemic years due to unmarketable grain or lost yields.

External Funding Partners:

This project is funded by the Canadian Agricultural Partnership, a five-year investment by Canada’s federal, provincial and territorial governments.

Syngenta Canada Inc.