Browsing by Author "Ncube, Edson"

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    Agricultural practices and their potential role in mycotoxin contamination of maize and groundnut subsistence farming
    (Academy of Science of South Africa, 2019-09-26) Phokane, Sylvia; Flett, Bradley C.; Ncube, Edson; Rheeder, John P.; Rose, Lindy J.
    Mycotoxigenic fungi are common pathogens of maize and groundnuts; they produce mycotoxins which reduce the yield and quality of these grain crops. Numerous agricultural practices including crop rotation and storage methods have been shown to impact mycotoxin accumulation. Therefore, the farming and storage practices in maize and groundnut subsistence farming systems in Pongola, Vryheid, Jozini, Manguzi and Mbazwana Districts of northern KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa) were surveyed to determine their potential role in promoting or mitigating mycotoxin contamination. A questionnaire about agricultural farming practices and storage facilities was presented to 65 subsistence maize and/or groundnut farmers. At least 90% of the farmers surveyed were not aware of mycotoxins and their consequences to animal and human health. The majority of the farmers did not practise crop rotation. However, they practised intercropping and sorted damaged and mouldy grain (maize and groundnuts) before storage. The damaged or mouldy grain was largely used as animal feed, thereby exposing animals to an increased risk of mycotoxicoses. Metal tanks and inqolobane (a type of wooden structure) were identified as the most common storage structures. Harvested homegrown maize was mostly used for the farmers’ own consumption but also sometimes sold to the local community. The implementation of mycotoxin awareness campaigns is necessary, particularly in these districts. The storage facilities used by the subsistence farmers allowed increased moisture and insect invasion. The need for the surveillance of mycotoxins in subsistence-farmed food crops is vital.
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    Fusarium spp. and levels of fumonisins in maize produced by subsistence farmers in South Africa
    (Academy of Science of South Africa, 2011) Ncube, Edson; Flett, Bradley C.; Waalwijk, Cees; Viljoen, Altus
    Fusarium spp. produce fumonisins – mycotoxins that are of importance to maize production in South Africa. Fumonisins have been associated with human oesophageal cancer and cause various diseases in animals that are of concern to the animal feed industry. Maize samples, collected from subsistence farm fields in the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo and Mpumalanga provinces of South Africa during the 2006 and 2007 growing seasons, were analysed for Fusarium spp. and contamination with fumonisins. Fusarium verticillioides was the most common Fusarium species in maize followed by F. subglutinans and F. proliferatum. Levels of contamination with fumonisins ranged from 0 μg/g to 21.8 μg/g, depending on the region where samples were collected. Levels of fumonisins were highest in northern KwaZulu-Natal (Zululand) where 52% and 17% of samples collected in 2006 and 2007, respectively, exceeded 2 μg/g. Regression analyses showed a positive correlation between fumonisin-producing Fusarium spp. determined by real-time polymerase chain reaction and concentration of fumonisins (r = 0.93). Many samples from Zululand, and some from Mokopane (Limpopo) and Lusikisiki (Eastern Cape), contained fumonisins at levels well above the maximum levels of 2 μg/g set by the Food and Drug Administration (USA) and therefore also the limit of 1 μg/g set by the European Union for food intended for direct human consumption. Regulations governing contamination of grain with fumonisins are not yet implemented in South Africa. The high incidence of fumonisins in subsistence farming systems indicates the need for awareness programmes and further research.
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    Interactive effect of busseola fusca and fusarium verticillioides on ear rot and fumonisin production in maize
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2017-03) Ncube, Edson; Viljoen, Altus; Flett, B. C.; Van den Berg, J.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of AgriSciences. Dept. of Plant Pathology.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Maize is a crop of great economic importance in southern Africa, and is widely consumed as a staple food and animal feed. Production of maize, however, is hampered by pathogens and pests such as Fusarium verticillioides and the African stem borer Busseola fusca, respectively. Fusarium verticillioides infection results in Fusarium ear rot (FER) and contamination of maize kernels with fumonisin mycotoxins, while B. fusca, causes significant damage to maize tissues during larval feeding. Despite attempts to control F. verticillioides, fungal infection and fumonisin production remains a threat to maize production due to a lack of resistant maize cultivars and the inability to target the pathogen with fungicides and biocontrol products. Planting Bt maize hybrids have become an important mechanism for the management of stem borers of maize. However, the recent discovery of B. fusca resistance to Bt maize with a single crystal protein MON810 gene, indicates that care should be taken not to solely rely on this technology for the management of B. fusca. The interactive effect of B. fusca and F. verticillioides on FER and fumonisin production in maize was investigated in this study. Maize ears were inoculated with F. verticillioides alone, with both F. verticillioides and B. fusca, and with B. fusca alone. Fusarium verticillioides isolate MRC826 was inoculated by injecting a spore suspension of the fungus into the silk channel of each primary ear at the blister stage. For B. fusca infestation, aliquots of 10-15 neonate larvae were deposited into the whorl of each plant at the 12-13th leaf stage before tasselling using a mechanical applicator. Maize ears were also mechanically wounded at the blister stage with a cork borer (different sizes and number of wounds) to mimic hail damage, and half of the wounds infected with F. verticillioides. Results from this study indicated that the impact of B. fusca infestation on FER varied seasonally, possibly due to its sporadic damage to maize ears. Busseola fusca, however, did not result in a significant increase in fumonisin production. The severity of wounding of maize ears was an important contributor to FER development and fumonisin production. The effect of host plant genetic modification and pesticide application on FER and fumonisin production in maize was investigated by studying the response of a Bt hybrid and its non-Bt isohybrid to F. verticillioides infection and B. fusca infestation; and by treating plants with Beta-cyfluthrin (non-systemic) and Benfuracarb (systemic) insecticides. The field trials were conducted over three seasons using a randomised complete block design with six replicates per treatment. Uninoculated, uninfested and undamaged control treatments were included. All ears were harvested at physiological maturity and FER, total fumonisin concentration, stem borer cumulative tunnel length (B. fusca damage) and target DNA of fumonisin-producing Fusarium spp. were quantified. Busseola fusca infestation had no effect on fungal colonisation and fumonisin production in maize. Bt and non-Bt kernels were equally contaminated with fungal DNA, but FER and fumonisin production were reduced in the Bt hybrid under natural farming conditions. Despite the evidence found in this study and others that Bt maize indirectly reduces FER and fumonisin production, this was also inconsistent over seasons. Benfuracarb controlled stem borers, and therewith indirectly reduced FER and fumonisin production. FER development and fumonisin production by F. verticillioides varied over seasons, indicating the importance of environmental conditions on FER and fumonisin production. A survey was also conducted at two sites in the North West province and one site in the Free State province of South Africa to analyse mycoflora in B. fusca frass. The exposure of B. fusca larvae to F. verticillioides in stem borer frass was also evaluated in both greenhouse and field trials. Maize whorls were inoculated with a spore suspension of F. verticillioides MRC826 4 weeks after plant emergence and infested with aliquots of 5-10 neonate B. fusca larvae 2 days later. The control treatment consisted of B. fusca infestation only. Several fungal species were associated with stem borer frass, including Acremonium zeae, Aspergillus flavus, A. niger, F. chlamydosporum, F. incarnatum-equiseti species complex, F. oxysporum, F. subglutinans, F. verticillioides, Mucor circinelloides, Rhizopus oryzae and Talaromyces flavus. The occurrence of A. niger in the frass suggests that further studies need to be conducted to determine the effect of A. niger infection on fumonisin production in maize in South Africa. DNA quantity of fumonisin-producing Fusarium spp. was significantly more in frass collected from greenhouse plants inoculated with F. verticillioides and infested with B. fusca larvae than in frass collected from the uninoculated and infested control, whilst the field trial showed no significant differences in quantity of target DNA in frass from inoculated and uninoculated plants infested with B. fusca larvae. This indicates that plants in the field were naturally infected with F. verticillioides. This study showed that Bt maize had no effect on infection of maize ears by fumonisinproducing Fusarium spp. and the subsequent production of fumonisin in F. verticillioidesinoculated maize ears, indicating that the effect of Bt maize on fumonisin production in maize ears is indirectly associated with its control of severe stem borer damage. Busseola fusca frass was a reservoir of different fungal species; some pathogenic to maize, and others antagonistic to maize pathogens. Moreover, B. fusca infestation of maize stems was associated with higher levels of fumonisin-producing Fusarium spp. in larval frass when F. verticillioides was present on the plant. Multiple large wounds created by cork borers resulted in significantly more FER symptoms and fumonisin production, irrespective of artificial F. verticillioides inoculation of maize ears whereas B. fusca infestation resulted in a significant increase in FER in only one of the three seasons, moreover, it had no effect on fumonisin production in all three seasons. This indicates that severe wounds that opens up husk coverage and exposes maize kernels; caused by factors such as insects, hail and bird damage, and damage by implements; are important entry points for F. verticillioides that may lead to the transition from symptomless infection to necrotrophic pathogenicity resulting in FER and concomitant fumonisin production in maize kernels. However, climatic conditions are also important in FER and fumonisin production in maize. Moreover, Acremonium zeae endophytes occurring in frass can be used for the biological control of F. verticillioides resulting in the management of FER and subsequent fumonisin production.
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    Mycotoxin levels in subsistence farming systems in South Africa
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2008-03) Ncube, Edson; Waalwijk, C.; Flett, B. C.; Viljoen, Altus; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of AgriSciences. Dept. of Plant Pathology.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Fusarium spp. and Aspergillus spp. are toxin-producing fungi associated with maize and groundnut. Fusarium verticillioides produces fumonisins in maize, and Aspergillus flavus produces aflatoxins in maize and groundnut kernels. Both toxins are responsible for carcinogenesis in humans and animals. Contamination of maize and groundnut with mycotoxins is often most severe in rural areas where subsistence farmers are unaware of their existence and follow agricultural practices that might contribute to their production. A questionnaire was, therefore, compiled to investigate agricultural decisions in rural areas that may influence mycotoxin contamination of crops. During 2006 and 2007, maize and groundnut samples were collected in the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), Limpopo, and Mpumalanga provinces. Mycotoxin levels were quantified using the ELISA technique, and the incidence of Fusarium spp. in maize grain was determined by plating maize kernels out on Fusarium selective medium. Fumonisin-producing Fusarium spp. were also quantified using real-time PCR (TaqMan). The incidence of A. flavus and A. parasiticus in groundnut was determined by plating out kernels on potato dextrose agar. Fumonisin contamination levels in maize samples ranged from 0-21.8 parts per million (ppm) and aflatoxin levels ranged from 0- 49 parts per billion (ppb), depending on the region where samples were collected. Aflatoxin levels in groundnut ranged from 0-160.1 ppb. Fusarium verticillioides was the most common Fusarium sp. in maize followed by F. subglutinans and F. proliferatum, respectively. Regression analyses showed a positive correlation between fumonisin-producing Fusarium species when determined by real-time PCR and fumonisin concentration (r2=0.866). Regression analyses further showed a highly significant positive correlation between A. flavus and aflatoxin contamination (r2=0.10235). Samples from northern KZN contained levels of mycotoxins that were far in excess of the maximum levels set by the Food and Drug Administration in the USA. In South Africa there are currently no regulations with regard to the maximum allowable levels of fumonisin in human food. The high incidence of mycotoxin contamination of human food in subsistence farming systems indicates the need for awareness programmes and further research.