Friday, October 30, 2020

Corn harvest skips DON

This year’s corn crop has dodged a bullet from DON (deoxynivalenol) mycotoxin.

It infected cobs soon after silking period when moisture levels were great for promoting crop growth, but stalled when the weather turned dry again later in the season.


The result, according to a province-wide survey, is DON levels similar to the 10-year average and well below last year’s disastrous infection rates.


The results from 245 samples turned up only one with more than five parts per million of DON: 89 per cent had less than two parts per million.


The project involved field crop specialists from the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Grain Farmers of Ontario and the Ontario Agri-Business Association.