At NPRL we are concerned with mycotoxins, harmful chemicals produced by certain species of fungi. Under certain conditions, these fungi can infect and grow in various crops, including peanuts and corn, contaminating them with mycotoxins.

Because mycotoxin contamination threatens the safety of food and feed, extensive monitoring must be done to ensure that mycotoxins are below levels set by the Food and Drug Administration. The most important mycotoxin that may contaminate peanuts and corn is aflatoxin. Not only is aflatoxin contamination a food safety concern, it is a major economic problem for the peanut and corn industries, which have to pay for the monitoring and take other expensive steps to be sure that products going into the edible market are essentially aflatoxin-free.

Aflatoxin represented by:
TLC	HPLC

The NPRL has conducted research on aflatoxin contamination of peanuts for many years and has recently developed and patented technology for biological control of aflatoxin contamination. This technology has been licensed and commercialized by Circle One Global, Inc., under the trade name, afla-guard®. Since receiving EPA registration as a biopesticide in 2004, afla-guard has been used in commercial peanut production in the southeastern US where aflatoxin contamination is historically the highest. It is also being used in large-scale tests on corn under an EPA experimental use permit. If those trials prove to be safe and successful, it is expected that the label would be extended to include that crop as well.

 

For more information contact Bruce Horn.

 

Aflatoxin contamination of peanuts is a food safety concern and major economic burden for the peanut industry. Aflatoxin contamination occurs when seeds are colonized by the mold, Aspergillus flavus, under late-season conditions of drought and high temperature.
 
A competitive strain of A. flavus that cannot make aflatoxin (nontoxigenic) is applied to crops at mid-season. When drought and high temperatures make them susceptible to infection by A. flavus later in the growing season, the applied strain out-competes the toxin-producing strains naturally present, and the result is reduced levels of aflatoxin.
 

The competitive fungus is bound to a small grain, which serves as (1) a carrier, to get the fungus to the field, and (2) a substrate, for the fungus to grow and multiply on.
AflaGuard® is applied to peanut about 60 days after planting. The fungus begins to grow and produces a multitude of spores on the surface of the grain.
The spores spread into the soil so the nontoxigenic strain is in position to compete with the strains capable of producing aflatoxin.

This ARS technology has been licensed, commercialized, and is now marketed
by Syngenta Crop Protection under the trade name, AflaGuard®. In May 2004, AflaGuard® received EPA Section 3 registration as a biopesticide for use on peanuts. The label was amended to include corn in October, 2008.

» Peanut Test Results

Large-scale field studies were conducted in peanuts in 2004 to demonstrate efficacy prior to EPA registration. AflaGuard® was applied at 20 lb/acre to about 5000 acres of peanuts in Alabama and Georgia. Analyses of farmers’ stock peanuts from 582 loads showed that AflaGuard® reduced average aflatoxin by 85%, and consistent reductions were seen in all areas. Analyses of shelled stock peanuts from 2 warehouses resulted in no lots from treated areas being rejected because of aflatoxin compared with rejection rates of 16 and 48%, respectively,  for untreated peanuts.

Commercial Use Results - Peanuts Aflatoxin (ppb)
	Untreated	Treated
Farmers' Stock	78.9	11.7
Shelled Stock Warehouse 1	36.2	0.9
Shelled Stock Warehouse 2	7.2	2.2

» Corn Test Results

A two-year experimental use permit was granted by EPA to determine the efficacy of AflaGuard® in corn. About 3000 acres were treated in two areas of Texas with either 10 or 20 lb/ac in 2007 and 2008. AflaGuard® reduced aflatoxin contamination by averages of 85% and 88% in respective years. There was no significant difference in the reduction achieved by the different rates.

Commercial Use Results - Corn Aflatoxin (ppb)
Treatment	2007	2008
Control	3.4	12.4
10 lb/ac	0.4	0.7
20 lb/ac	0.6	2.1