Increased Aflatoxin Contamination in Nitrogen-Stressed Corn. Gary A. Payne, Associate Professor, Department of Plant Pathology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh 27695-7616. Eugene J. Kamprath, and Craig R. Adkins. Professor, Department of Soil Science, and Research Assistant, Department of Plant Pathology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh 27695-7616. Plant Dis. 73:556-559. Accepted for publication 26 January 1989. Copyright 1989 The American Phytopathological Society. DOI: 10.1094/PD-73-0556.

Aflatoxin concentration in corn kernels wound-inoculated with Aspergillus flavus was correlated negatively with corn yield, silk leaf nitrogen, and grain nitrogen in a 2-yr study in North Carolina. At two of three locations in 1982, aflatoxin concentration in silk-inoculated ears was also correlated negatively with yield, silk leaf nitrogen, or grain nitrogen. Percent kernel infection of silk-inoculated ears was correlated with aflatoxin concentration but not with yield, silk leaf nitrogen, or grain nitrogen. Silk- or wound-inoculated ears from plants receiving no added nitrogen contained an average of 28% more aflatoxin than ears from plants that received optimum nitrogen fertilization. We conclude from these studies that nitrogen stress may be a factor contributing to aflatoxin contamination of corn.