VIEW ARTICLE

Postharvest Pathology and Mycotoxins

Relation of Early Splitting and Tattering of Pistachio Nuts to Aflatoxin in the Orchard. N. F. Sommer, Department of Pomology, University of California, Davis 95616; J. R. Buchanan(2), and R. J. Fortlage(3). (2)(3)Department of Pomology, University of California, Davis 95616. Phytopathology 76:692-694. Accepted for publication 24 January 1986. This article is in the public domain and not copyrightable. It may be freely reprinted with customary crediting of the source. The American Phytopathological Society, 1986. DOI: 10.1094/Phyto-76-692.

Pistachio nuts that split abnormally to expose the kernels were prone to infection by Aspergillus flavus or A. parasiticus and contamination with aflatoxin. The incidence of aflatoxin was more frequent if the nuts were also infested by the navel orangeworm (Amyelois transitella). Nuts with tattered hulls found at the end of harvest as the hull tissues became senescent were subject to infestation by navel orangeworm moths, and aflatoxin developed. Aflatoxin accumulated in tattered nuts with or without insect infestation but with a higher frequency in the former.