Sanitary security of foodstuffs
Characteristics of genetic families:
lines, hybrids
Impact
of crop
management practices
Adapting
your crop
management practices
The programmes aim to improve and guarantee good sanitary quality for maize (corn) and finished products.
Since fungicides (offering chemical protection of a crop against contamination by a pathogenic fungus) are of only limited effect on Fusaria, hope is based particularly on genetics and the selection of lines which are more tolerant to fungal contaminations and the production of mycotoxins.
Maïsadour Semences' plant breeders have therefore included "tolerance to fusariosis", as a selection criterion alongside other criteria such as yield, starch levels, and so on.
Findings
of the study on lines
To carry out this work of selecting and creating a mycotoxin-resistant germplasm it was essential, given the lack of reliable methods, to develop and use new, effective tools for all the stages of maize (corn) selection :
Appraisers then take over to study tolerance to fusariosis and the production of toxins in the varieties being developed.
They have a vast experiment network: the varieties are tested throughout
Europe (in over 60 different locations), where the effects of fusariosis, which are mainly dependant on the climate, are variable. Sanitary
analyses of grains and dosage levels of toxins produced by Fusaria are carried out routinely every year on several
hundred samples taken from the experiment network.
Findings
of the study on hybrids
Organisation of the research programmes
The programmes are organised around criteria regulating the sanitary conditions in the field
REVIEWING THE BASICS
Which fungi are likely to synthesize mycotoxins in maize (corn) grains and which toxins are they likely to produce? Are there answers to these questions? Please consult the introductory section: