Occurrence of Mycotoxins in Grass and Whole-Crop Cereal Silages—A Farm Survey

Mycotoxin incidence in forage may heavily affect the amount of toxins consumed by cattle. However, many studies have focused on mycotoxin occurrence in cereals and there are less studies of forages, particularly of grass silages. For determining the occurrence of mycotoxins in farm silages under Nor...

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Main Authors: Katariina Manni, Sari Rämö, Marcia Franco, Marketta Rinne, Arto Huuskonen
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2022-03-01
Series:Agriculture
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/12/3/398
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author Katariina Manni
Sari Rämö
Marcia Franco
Marketta Rinne
Arto Huuskonen
author_facet Katariina Manni
Sari Rämö
Marcia Franco
Marketta Rinne
Arto Huuskonen
author_sort Katariina Manni
collection DOAJ
description Mycotoxin incidence in forage may heavily affect the amount of toxins consumed by cattle. However, many studies have focused on mycotoxin occurrence in cereals and there are less studies of forages, particularly of grass silages. For determining the occurrence of mycotoxins in farm silages under Northern European conditions in Finland, 37 grass silage and 6 whole-crop cereal silage batches were analysed separately for surface, core and, if present, visibly mouldy spots. Mycotoxins were found in 92% of the samples. All mouldy samples contained mycotoxins. Beauvericin was the most common mycotoxin in grass silages and roquefortine C in whole-crop cereal silages. In mouldy samples, beauvericin, mycophenolic acid and roquefortine C were the most common mycotoxins in the grass silage and mycophenolic acid in the whole-crop cereal silage. Aflatoxins were not found in any of the samples. On average, all samples contained more than one type of mycotoxin. Concentrations of mycotoxins varied considerably from very low to very high values. The results of this survey indicate that silage-fed ruminants can be exposed to a broad range of mycotoxins. The absence of visible moulds does not always indicate mycotoxin-free feed. All moulded samples contained mycotoxins and some at very high concentrations, and they contained more different types of mycotoxins than samples without visible mould. Thus, feeding mouldy feeds to animals should be avoided.
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spelling doaj.art-ce5d232e50cc4001ba96b3ddca141a442023-11-24T00:05:45ZengMDPI AGAgriculture2077-04722022-03-0112339810.3390/agriculture12030398Occurrence of Mycotoxins in Grass and Whole-Crop Cereal Silages—A Farm SurveyKatariina Manni0Sari Rämö1Marcia Franco2Marketta Rinne3Arto Huuskonen4Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Production Systems, Tietotie 2 C, FI-31600 Jokioinen, FinlandNatural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Natural Resources, Myllytie 1, FI-31600 Jokioinen, FinlandNatural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Production Systems, Tietotie 2 C, FI-31600 Jokioinen, FinlandNatural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Production Systems, Tietotie 2 C, FI-31600 Jokioinen, FinlandNatural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Production Systems, Halolantie 31 A, FI-71750 Maaninka, FinlandMycotoxin incidence in forage may heavily affect the amount of toxins consumed by cattle. However, many studies have focused on mycotoxin occurrence in cereals and there are less studies of forages, particularly of grass silages. For determining the occurrence of mycotoxins in farm silages under Northern European conditions in Finland, 37 grass silage and 6 whole-crop cereal silage batches were analysed separately for surface, core and, if present, visibly mouldy spots. Mycotoxins were found in 92% of the samples. All mouldy samples contained mycotoxins. Beauvericin was the most common mycotoxin in grass silages and roquefortine C in whole-crop cereal silages. In mouldy samples, beauvericin, mycophenolic acid and roquefortine C were the most common mycotoxins in the grass silage and mycophenolic acid in the whole-crop cereal silage. Aflatoxins were not found in any of the samples. On average, all samples contained more than one type of mycotoxin. Concentrations of mycotoxins varied considerably from very low to very high values. The results of this survey indicate that silage-fed ruminants can be exposed to a broad range of mycotoxins. The absence of visible moulds does not always indicate mycotoxin-free feed. All moulded samples contained mycotoxins and some at very high concentrations, and they contained more different types of mycotoxins than samples without visible mould. Thus, feeding mouldy feeds to animals should be avoided.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/12/3/398beauvericinfilamentous fungifeedstuffensilinglivestock
spellingShingle Katariina Manni
Sari Rämö
Marcia Franco
Marketta Rinne
Arto Huuskonen
Occurrence of Mycotoxins in Grass and Whole-Crop Cereal Silages—A Farm Survey
Agriculture
beauvericin
filamentous fungi
feedstuff
ensiling
livestock
title Occurrence of Mycotoxins in Grass and Whole-Crop Cereal Silages—A Farm Survey
title_full Occurrence of Mycotoxins in Grass and Whole-Crop Cereal Silages—A Farm Survey
title_fullStr Occurrence of Mycotoxins in Grass and Whole-Crop Cereal Silages—A Farm Survey
title_full_unstemmed Occurrence of Mycotoxins in Grass and Whole-Crop Cereal Silages—A Farm Survey
title_short Occurrence of Mycotoxins in Grass and Whole-Crop Cereal Silages—A Farm Survey
title_sort occurrence of mycotoxins in grass and whole crop cereal silages a farm survey
topic beauvericin
filamentous fungi
feedstuff
ensiling
livestock
url https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/12/3/398
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