Fact Sheet on DON (vomitoxin) Available

A fact sheet with tips to maximize profit if you have Fusarium head blight (scab) in wheat is available through the North Dakota State University Extension Service and the North Dakota Wheat Commission. The fact sheet also has advice on how to avoid scab damage in the future.

Wheat or other grains infected with the scab fungus may produce deoxynivalenol (DON), also known as vomitoxin. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration advises that DON levels should be at or less than 1 part per million in finished wheat products for human consumption.

In the future, producers should consider a multi-pronged approach to prevent a recurring problem, says Joel Ransom, NDSU Extension Service agronomist. “As I analyze research data and farmer experiences with scab in 2005, it is obvious to me that no one single approach provides the level of scab control needed when disease pressure is at the level it was this year. Farmers need to integrate the various control practices currently available, such as crop rotation, resistant varieties, and fungicides to minimize damage due to scab and the presence of DON on the harvested grain.”

The profitability of cleaning and/or storing scab-infected grain, including a Commodity Credit Corporation loan to meet cash flow, is explored in the fact sheet. The cost of cleaning is about 40 cents per bushel. To be worthwhile, the combined value of the cleanout and clean grain, less cleaning costs, must be greater than the value of the original grain.

“This publication not only describes what DON is and how it is measured, but provides practical guidelines on how to market and utilize grain with elevated DON levels,” Ransom says.

The fact sheet is available at county offices of the Extension Service and USDA Farm Service Agency. The NDWC also distributed the fact sheet to grain elevators in the state. It also is available at www.ext.nodak.edu/extpubs/plantsci/pests/pp1302w.htm or www.ndwheat.com . Information on feeding scab-infected grain to animals is available at www.ext.nodak.edu/extnews/newsrelease/2005/082505/11testfo.htm .