Changes in the Distribution of Trichothecenes and Zearalenone in Maize with Gibberella Ear Rot During Storage at Cool Temperatures. D. T. Wicklow, USDA-ARS, Northern Regional Research Center, Peoria, IL 61604. G. A. Bennett, R. W. Caldwell, and E. B. Smalley. USDA-ARS, Northern Regional Research Center, Peoria, IL 61604, and Department of Plant Pathology, University of Wisconsin, Madison 53706. Plant Dis. 74:304-305. Accepted for publication 5 October 1989. 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, 1990. DOI: 10.1094/PD-74-0304.

Substantial levels of deoxynivalenol (3,799–4,139 ppb), 15-acetyldeoxynivalenol (746–818 ppb), and zearalenone (870–1,500 ppb) were detected in the severely rotted kernels from one side of ears of a commercial maize hybrid (DeKalb XL-12) that had been wound-inoculated 7 days after silk emergence with strain NRRL 13188 of Gibberella zeae. Storage of the remainder of the ears at 12 or 16 C for 10 wk produced no change in the concentration of deoxynivalenol recovered, whereas 15-acetyldeoxynivalenol disappeared and zearalenone increased 1.7- to 2.3-fold. At harvest, a trace of zearalenone was detected in samples of the sound kernels from ears showing typical symptoms of Gibberella ear rot; after storage, 64–132 ppb were detected. There was no evidence for expansion of the rotted areas or growth of fungal mycelium during the storage period.