Location: Food and Feed Safety Research
Project Number: 6054-42000-027-016-A
Project Type: Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Jul 1, 2026
End Date: Jun 30, 2030
Objective:
The proposed work examines the impact of abiotic stress (drought, low nitrogen, waterlogging, and heat stress) on aflatoxin levels and develops non-invasive early detection strategies by combining advanced sensors with field/lab sampling. Short-term goals are to develop prototypes and sensors under controlled conditions. The long-term goals are to validate and then deploy them in the field to refine phenotyping proxies for aflatoxin tolerance.
Objective 1: Quantify abiotic stress impact on corn aflatoxin level.
Objective 2: Investigate early detection of aflatoxin infection using advanced imaging and sensing.
Objective 3: Quantify variation in grain aflatoxin and grain composition of commercial hybrids.
Approach:
Approaches:
1: Evaluate yield and aflatoxin tolerance by analyzing grain from replicated Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station (MAFES) variety trials across Mississippi under diverse environments and management conditions.
2: Assess how grain nutrient composition and quality traits relate to aflatoxin accumulation using mineral analysis and Near-Infrared Reflectance Spectroscopy (NIRS)-based measurements.
3: Quantify aflatoxin levels in ground grain samples using standardized USDA-approved methods to support development of predictive detection models.
4. Work closely with scientists at Agency to prepare findings for publication in peer-reviewed journals and presentations at meetings and/or commodity groups.