MANHATTAN, Kn. - Molds are generally considered “bad,” but a U.S. Department of Agriculture scientist has found one particular mold-Aspergillus glaucys-that acts like a “good guy” by slowing down the serious damage of more harmful fungi in stored grain. David B. Sauer, Agricultural Research Service ' plant pathologist, calls A. glaucus a “wimp” because it grows slowly and lacks aggressiveness. “Indeed A. glaucus passively ‘does it’s own thing,’ which turns out to be im Farm Drainage & Soil Conservation... We Are Fully Equipped To Install Tile With Laser Beam Control • Improved Land Use and Efficiency • Better Soil Conservation • Deeper Root Development • Increased Crop Yield • Longer Growing Seasons • Improved Plant Quality • Better Livestock Farming gB COCALICO EQUIP. 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He also inoculated the grain with a combination of A. candidus, A. flavus, A. niger, A. That's Us I ochraeus, and Pemcillium citrmum. A. flavus is the mold that sometimes produces aflatoxin. Fungal growth was measured by the amount of ergosterol produced in the grain. Ergosterol is a crystalline steroid alcohol produced by molds. “If gram is clean and fungus-free, there will be an absence of ergosterol. As molds grow on grain, the amourit of ergosterol increases,” says Sauer. Sauer used an ergosterol test performed by high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) to find We Specialize In Soil Conservation And Land Improvement Work We’re Equipped With Dozers, Pans And Excavators To Handle Any Excavating Jobs, Such As Terraces, Waterways, Diversions, Ponds, Etc. During our special promotion, every bag of Alka-Culture™ and Alka ll™ delivered to your farm has a valuable tear-off coupon that can be redeemed toward quality gifts Contact your Youngs’ represen tative today for details about increasing your herd’s milk production and getting free gifts for yourself Enjoy the Young’s advantage Quality products making better use of your feeds (ffi) young’s LIVESTOCK NUTRITIONAL SERVICES Roaring Spring, PA 16673 814-793-3701 early signs of fungal growth, Tests were made at 68°F. and above and from 85 to 90 percent relative humidity. Grain inoculated with the five species averaged three tunes higher ergosterol content than grain inoculated with A. glaucus alone. Inoculation with A. glaucus plus the five species resulted m less total fungal growth than with just the five species. In a 1979 survey of export grain samples, Sauer found mold in every corn sample. “On the average, about 20 percent of the kernels had storage mold in them, which is probably typical of corn in commercial channels,” he says. Sauer says the storage en vironment is responsible for fungus invasion and growth. Such Farmers teamed of rye hazard ANNAPOLIS - Maryland farmers are cautioned against buying rye and other small grain for cover crop use that may con tain noxious weed seeds. As the cold weather approaches, many Maryland farmers will be buying cover crop material to prevent soil erosion over the winter. Farmers are urged to avoid untested and unlabelled seed lots which frequently are found to be heavily infested with noxious weed seeds such as quackgrass, Canada thistle and Johnsongrass. According to Malcolm Sarna, Acting Chief of the Maryland Department of Agriculture’s Turf and Seed Section, many farmers could be inviting new weed pests on their land if they buy seed for cover use that has not been tested ATTENTION POULTRYMAN Water Cup Problems ? Replacing Your Water System? DON'T Most Systems Can Be Corrected With Less Expense Than Replacement. Unless You Pre-Engineer Your Supply System. You Could End Up With The r -Call Or Write For Information Or Appointment- S.K.D. SERVICES 220 N. Main St., Rear (717) 244-7790 [Please send information on the following: j I □ Improving water quality. I i □ Call for appointment for value analysis. i | □ Information on valve parts (seals, stems, cups). J ] □ Information on dropping boards. I 'NAME ] I ADDRESS ' I factors as temperature, ven tilation, and moisture are critical in the growth of storage molds. "Storage molds are every where -m the air, in household dust. So we really can’t avoid gram con tamination. Studying the effects of A. glaucus on the more damaging molds may help us to better un derstand and control grain spoilage,” says Sauer. “Damp grain inoculated with any one of the five most damaging species will be absolutely destroyed within a matter of a few days or weeks,” he says. “Our tests with A. glaucus in dicate a strong correlation bet ween its presence and reduced damage by these five species, but we don’t know yet how it limits the other fungi,” says Sauer. or is being sold for feed purposes. “Unfortunately, some farmers are not concerned with the quality of the seed they use for cover crop purposes,” cautioned Sarna, “what we are trying to do is alert farmers about buying untested and unlabelled seed. Frequently this material is loaded with noxious weed seeds." Continued Sarna, “we urge all farmers to buy properly tested and labelled seed. If dealing on a farmer to farmer basis, at least get it tested for noxious weeds, purity and germination. It can only save you trouble in the long run.” MDA, turf and seed inspectors place under “stop sale” order seed lots exposed for sale that are found in violation of the Maryland Seed Law. ON THE GROW lame Problems. Jacobus, PA 17407
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