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Zearalenone in Freshly Harvested Corn. Rodney W. Caldwell, Graduate Assistant, Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907; John Tuite, Professor, Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907. Phytopathology 64:752-753. DOI: 10.1094/Phyto-64-752.

Zearalenone, an estrogenic lactone produced by Gibberella zeae, was assayed in naturally infected corn ears harvested in December 1972 in Indiana. Of 31 kernel samples, 27 contained zearalenone (0.1-10.0 µg/g). Production was greatest in kernels at the tip of the ears where G. zeae infection was most severe. Low zearalenone levels (1.5 µg/g or less) were detected in 10 freshly harvested commercial corn samples. Cob and husk samples contained 4.5 to 12.5 µg/g of zearalenone. We have concluded that zearalenone in freshly harvested corn in Indiana is not an important threat to feeder cattle.