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Appl Environ Microbiol. 1970 May; 19(5): 781-784
Copyright © 1970 American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Effects of Moisture Content and Temperature on Aflatoxin Production in Corn ¹

Department of Bacteriology, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa 50010

ABSTRACT

Samples of freshly harvested and remoistened corn, of various moisture contents, were stored at different temperatures; analyses for aflatoxin content were made periodically. At moisture levels above 17.5% and at temperatures of 24 C or warmer, aflatoxins were formed by Aspergillus flavus present in the original epiphytic mycoflora. Remoistened dried corn was subject to more rapid fungal deterioration and aflatoxin formation than freshly harvested corn. Screening of the fungi present in the corn revealed aflatoxin production only by A. flavus. The toxigenic strains produced only aflatoxins B₁ and B₂.

¹ Journal paper no. J-6463 of the Iowa Agriculture and Home Economics Experiment Station, Ames, Iowa. Projects no. 1348 and 1763. Presented in part at the 68th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology, Detroit, Mich., 6 May 1968.