The average American eats about five pounds of strawberries in a year. The fruit is fat-free, low in calories and a source of vitamin C, folic acid, potassium and fiber. Contamination of corn grain with aflatoxin, a toxin produced by certain fungi, is a major food and feed safety problem. Currently, no aflatoxin-resistant corn hybrids are available to farmers. Corn with levels of aflatoxin greater than 20 parts per billion is drastically reduced in value because it is restricted from interstate commerce.
Aflatoxin is a sporadic problem in the Corn Belt and a chronic one in the South.
ARS will evaluate the hybrids for aflatoxin resistance. DeKalb will evaluate the hybrids for yield and other desirable agronomic qualities. With DeKalb Genetics Corp., DeKalb, IL, to evaluate corn hybrids that possess both natural and bioengineered sources of genetic resistance to the fall armyworm. The fall armyworm is a serious pest of corn, especially late-planted corn in the South. New commercial hybrids with greater resistance to the pests could reduce farmers' production costs and increase profits.