Wet corn is dumped to be dried Tuesday at the Hagerstown Ag Center, 4379 Jacksonburg Road. / Joshua Smith / Palladium-Item
If drought and heat weren’t enough, Indiana’s corn crop is now infected by a fungus that can make the grain unusable.
Corn molds, especially Aspergillus ear rot, are found statewide this year, a byproduct of the summer’s hot, dry weather.
Aspergillus produces aflatoxin in corn kernels, a carcinogen that can cause health problems in livestock, especially swine.
“Once it’s in the grain, it’s in there. You can’t kill it,” said Purdue Extension field crops disease specialist Kiersten Wise. “All you can do is try to keep it from increasing and manage it accordingly.”
Concerns about the fungal infection are so widespread Purdue University has updated its “Managing Moldy Corn” website — www.purdue.edu/cornmold — to answer producers’ questions. Corn that tests under 20 parts per billion for aflatoxin meets the Food and Drug Administration’s level for human consumption.
Copyright © 2025 www.pal-item.com.