Project Number: 6435-42000-020-06
Project Type: Specific Cooperative Agreement

Start Date: Sep 19, 2005
End Date: Jul 14, 2010

Objective:
The objectives of this cooperative research project are to assist continued development of techniques to manage aflatoxins with biological control methods and to improve understanding of the epidemiology of aflatoxin contamination through the use of geostatistical methods, the development of predictive models, and studies of the population biology of Aspergillus flavus, and thereby provide insights useful in the management of aflatoxin contamination.

Approach:
In consultation with both Arizona and Texas growers and gins, development of an area-wide aflatoxin elimination program based on atoxigenic strain technologies will be continued. Parameters influencing stability and persistence of applied atoxigenic strain products in agricultural fields will be determined and improved application methods and formulations will be sought. Geostatistical methods will be used to assess the distribution of aflatoxin contamination, and combined with regression analysis, to develop models predictive of contamination.