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To assist continued development of techniques to manage aflatoxins with biological control methods and to improve understanding of the population biology of Aspergillus flavus and the epidemiology of aflatoxin contamination through the use of geostatistical methods and studies of the population biology of Aspergillus flavus and thereby provide insights useful in the management of aflatoxin contamination.
Approach: In consultation with both Arizona and Texas growers and gins, development of an area-wide aflatoxin elimination program based on atoxigenic strain technologies will be continued. Parameters influencing stability and persistence of applied atoxigenic strain products in agricultural fields will be determined and improved application methods and formulations will be sought. Retrospective analyses will be performed to assess influences of agronomic practices on success of atoxigenic strain applications. Geostatistical methods will be used to assess the distribution of aflatoxin producing fungi and relate this to agronomic, environmental, and geographic factors and to contamination. Provide field based assistance to large-scale trials of atoxigenic strains in Texas and Arizona and to development of commercial scale atoxigenic strain manufacture.