Air to Crops to Humans

Grain crops have been associated with fungal disease for many years. Each type of grain seems to have its own battle against specific fungal disease, the rye plant with ergot poisoning, and the wheat plant with fungal head blight. There are also the fungal diseases carried by insects that infect plants in the fields and grain in storage areas. All of these can produce mycotoxins harmful to humans.

Fungal head blight, or Fusarium Head Blight, has been occurring on spring and winter crops of wheat, barley and durum in North Dakota and other areas of the United States. Yield of these crops are significantly reduced because blight can not be contained to a particular part of the plant or one section of a field. The wind rapidly spreads the spores of the fungus from crop to crop, or from flower to flower, rendering all exposed plants useless.

Insects may also carry viruses and fungal diseases from plant to plant, leaving traces of the disease anywhere it lands. Aphids are particularly harmful to crops by sucking the juices out of the plant, drying it up and taking the majority of nutrients, also spreading disease.

The majority of farmers in recent years have practiced a combination of preventative steps to prevent transmission of disease in grain crops - planting the most resistant type of grain, rotating crops, tilling to bury effected plant particles, planting high-quality seeds, and alternating planting times. This certainly decreases risk of acquiring contaminated grain products but is not full-proof.

Even though harmful effects of toxins in grain has been greatly reduced over the years, on occasion some may slip through the cracks of quality control and end up in a food product. Buying organic foods is probably the best decision to avoid potential consumption of grain products contaminated with fungus.