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Pre-harvest Precautions:
Prevention of aflatoxin development prior to harvest is not always possible, since weather factors can often negate producer efforts to avoid predisposing crop stress. Nevertheless, some production practices aimed at reducing crop stress can be helpful during years of medium stress.
- Plant well-tested, regionally adapted hybrids that have performed consistently well.
- Use a balanced fertility program with adequate nitrogen.
- Plant as early as practical to try to avoid late season drought stress. Medium-maturity varieties may also help to avoid the common late season stress periods.
- Follow recommended management practices to limit damage by ear feeding insects and weed problems.
- Use moisture conservation practices including sub-soiling to break hard pans, stubble mulching of crop residue, minimal soil disturbance before and at planting time. Soils that are incapable of storing reasonable volumes of water should be planted to more drought tolerant crops, such as grain sorghum. If irrigation is available, deliver optimum water from silking to the late dough stage.
- Avoid excessive plant populations which can result in increased plant stress during dry periods.
- Harvest as early as practical. Corn can be harvested with grain moisture as high as 30 % when drying facilities are available (23 to 26 % is often considered optimum). Dry down high-moisture grain to 15% within 24 hours to restrict further aflatoxin production. Grain going into storage should be dried to 13% moisture. If the corn has field-dried to 15%, do no permit rains to re-wet the grain.
- Avoid mechanical injury to the grain by adjusting combine ground speed and cylinder speed to minimize trash and broken kernels in the hopper. Aflatoxin is often higher in broken or light-weight kernels.
Post-harvest Precautions:
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