Effect of meteorological and agronomic factors on maize grain contamination by fumonisin

Fumonisins are toxic secondary metabolites produced by fungi such as F.verticilloides. Maize is commonly colonized by several spoilage fungi both in pre- and post-harvest conditions. Field infection prevention is the best solution to contain contamination, using practices aimed at restricting plant stress and limiting the propagation of the disease. This work is focused on understanding the effect of environmental factors on the production of fumonisins in Friuli Venezia Giulia (NE Italy) on maize crops. The analysis has been performed on a dataset covering a period of 14 years (from 2000 to 2013), recording fumonisins contamination and daily meteorological data (air temperature, RH, Rain, Wind speed) for 13 different drying plants and for three different harvest times (early, medium and late). The drying plants collect grain production from an area of about 70.000-100.000 ha. Data were analyzed by full factorial ANOVA and a multiple regression approach was performed using STATA and SEMoLa software. ANOVA test pointed out a significant effect of factors “year” and “harvest time” (p<0.01) for fumonisin content. Instead, location had no significant effect. The best regression model (R2=0. 65, 2... observation) detected a significant correlation between fumonisin concentration and meteorological data in the period from 15th to 31st July. High fumonisin contents were positively correlated with daily thermal excursion, minimum temperature and wet conditions in this period. Silk drying and harvest time resulted as the key factors to contain and study fumonisins contamination in maize. Results will be used to implement a more complex dynamic model.