Spectral Prediction of Deoxynivalenol (DON) in Maize Grain, Rachis Tissue, and Silage

Deoxynivalenol (DON) is a secondary metabolite or mycotoxin produced by Fusarium molds. DON contamination in maize poses a major threat to food and feed safety. Conventional detection of mycotoxins involves time and resource-intensive chemical assays. Inexpensive and non-destructive methods for detecting DON based on the spectral properties of grain have shown promising success at various prediction tasks. Grain-based models, however, may not be effective for assessing silage, which consists of mixed maize tissues. Available evidence suggests that the maize rachis can harbor much more DON than grain, but rachis tissues have not been included in spectral models for DON detection. Models that leverage spectral data from both grain and rachis tissue could enable cost-effective DON surveillance in maize silage. To assess the extent of this applicability, we will acquire diverse silage samples from local dairy farms. This model’s performance will suggest how specific our rachis and grain wavelengths are to DON in general, and in turn, how applicable they may be to silage samples.