OCC corn hybrid DON/GER evaluations

Objectives:

• Identify appropriate reliable field screening methods for determining corn hybrid susceptibility to Gibberella ear rot (GER) and deoxynivalenol (DON) accumulation and assess DON susceptibility of commercially relevant corn hybrids.
• Provide assessments to farmers of the susceptibility of commercial corn hybrids (submitted by seed corn companies) to GER and DON.

Impacts:

• Enables reliable field screening protocols of corn lines for resistance to GER and DON accumulation so that hybrid resistance can be improved.
• Provides growers with reliable GER/DON resistance ratings for commercial corn hybrids to inform planting decisions and reduce risks associated with GER/DON.

Scientific Summary:

Each year, corn seed companies submit commercially relevant corn hybrids to the Ontario Corn Committee (OCC) to be evaluated by an expert research team at the University of Guelph Ridgetown Campus for susceptibility to deoxynivalenol (DON) mycotoxin accumulation. The corn hybrids are assessed for Gibberella ear rot (GER)/DON levels each year across at least two irrigated, inoculated nursery field sites (Ridgetown and Huron Research Stations). The trials follow the agreed-upon OCC protocols developed by the OCC members and researchers each year.

The 2023 and 2024 hybrid rankings of susceptibility to DON were released on https://corn.gocrops.ca at the end of each year.

External Funding Partners:

This project is funded in part by the Governments of Canada and Ontario under the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (Sustainable CAP), a five-year, federal-provincial-territorial initiative.

Various corn seed companies

Various corn end users

The detailed list of funders can be found in the annual OCC DON reports released online at https://corn.gocrops.ca.