Mycotoxin contamination of maize hybrids after infection withFusarium proliferatum

The ear rot severity of nine maize hybrids and the accumulation of fumonisin B1(FB1), fumonisin B2(FB2), beauvericin (BEA) and fusaproliferin (FP) after artificial inoculation in the field with a toxigenic strain of Fusarium proliferatum have been investigated. Different degrees of ear rot were observed in different hybrids. Inoculated ears contained 11–38% of Fusarium-damaged kernels (FDK). Mycotoxin analyses showed a pronounced contamination of FDK with concentrations ranging from 116 to 343 mg kg−1 for FB1, from 8 to 29 mg kg−1 for FB2, from 1 to 14 mg kg−1 for BEA and from 2 to 10 mg kg−1 for FP. Lower levels of contamination were found in healthy-looking kernels (up to 26, 2, 0.2 and 0.3 mg kg−1 for FB1, FB2, BEA and FP respectively). A good correlation was observed between mycotoxin contamination and the Fusarium ear rot index, calculated on the basis of average ear infection with a scale ranging from 0 to 500 to represent healthy cobs and totally rotted cobs respectively.