Evaluation of agronomic practices for mitigation of natural toxins

Several preventive and corrective measures to minimize toxin contamination in agricultural commodities particularly by mycotoxins have been attempted. These can be divided into three broad categories: plant breeding, good agronomic practice and detoxification. . The focus of this current review is the evaluation of agronomic practises aimed to modulate “natural toxins”. In order to identify what is known about the agronomic effects and how they might potentially be manipulated to reduce toxin levels, it is necessary to analyse the relationship between toxins, crops and agricultural practises. In this discussion paper we will deal first with two major food crops (cereals and potatoes) and their food safety. We will then deal with agronomic factors and their effects on different crops, and also on fungal strains, and the occurrence of mycotoxins or the occurrence of inherent toxins on different food crops. Detoxification is considered outside the scope of this review. As starting point the two key food crops in Europe, cereals and potatoes, were selected .The intention was to develop an inventory of the current agronomic practices applied in order to reduce the concentration of inherent plant toxins and mycotoxins. With respect to food processing only those closely related to harvesting, storage, or domestic food preparation will be considered. Industrial food processing is outside the remit of this paper. Other topics considered include masked mycotoxins, mycotoxins boundaries and the environmental conditions that influence fungal growth. This review considers different fungal strains, the influence of climate (temperature), growth conditions, toxicity, data gaps and research needs, toxin interaction with other compounds, kinetics, sensitivity of the fungal population and possible polymorphism. Additional topics include the definition and comparison of agronomic factors, the application of plant protection products, hereafter referred to as pesticides, and the occurrence of mycotoxins. Other food crops will be also considered in relation to mycotoxins and inherent toxins and the influence of agronomic factors on the formation of such toxins. These include the mycotoxins, fusarium toxins particularly trichothecenes such as T2 and HT2, DON, fusarium toxin, ochratoxins and phenyl hydrazine derivatives (cultivated mushroom) and cyanogenic glycosides (cassava).