Objective:
Understand the environmental conditions and cellular mechanisms that favor development of significant levels of deoxynivalenol (DON) in wheat grain that is apparently healthy or shows only low levels of disease.

Approach:
Evaluate the role of air temperature and timing of infection on development of asymptomatic kernels containing >2 ppm DON; Determine if translocation of DON within the wheat head from infected to uninfected spikelets can result in DON levels >2 ppm in healthy kernels and to see if certain cultivars favor translocation and DON accumulation at sites distant from the fungus.