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Angie Peltier
Former Extension Educator, Commercial Agriculture
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Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Saprophytic molds on corn
Many people may have noticed the black clouds surrounding combines during the corn harvest this year. No, not a figurative but a literal black cloud. These black clouds are caused by harvest operations releasing mold spores from fungi that have colonized dead and dying corn tissues. These fungi are not corn pathogens, but organisms called saprophytes. Saprophytes grow on and derive nourishment from dead or decaying organic matter.
In rating corn stalk and ear rots in the past several weeks, I have personally encountered some of these molds that have colonized dead and dying corn tissue (Figure). Articles about the saprophytic molds responsible for both sneezing fits and dirtying harvest equipment in 2012 have been written by Drs. Carl Bradley and Alison Robertson, University of Illinois and Iowa State University Plant Pathologists, respectively.
An article addressing potential health effects of exposure to these saprophytic molds was recently written by Dr. Chuck Schwab, Iowa State University Agriculture and Biosystems Engineering Professor and Agricultural Health and Safety Specialist.
Please share this article with your friends!
