Letters to the Editor

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Extract Madam:— Contamination of maize with Fusarium mycotoxins has resulted in serious outbreaks of disease in humans and animals overseas. Alimentary toxic aleukia in U.S.S.R., red mold disease in Japan and moldy corn toxicosis in U.S.A. are examples. (6) Ueno, Y. , ed. 1983. Trichothecenes- Chemical, biological and toxicological aspects, Tokyo: Kodansha. and Elsevier, Amsterdam [Google Scholar] In New Zealand Fusarium mycotoxins have been reported as occurring naturally in wheat grain (1) Agnew, M.P. , Poole, P.R. , Lauren, D.R. and Ledgard, S.F. 1986. Presence of zearalenone and trichothecene mycotoxins in Fusarium-infected New Zealand grown wheat. N.Z. vet. J., 34: 176–177. [Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] [Google Scholar] and pasture grasses, (2) di Menna, M.E. , Lauren, D.R. and Holland, P.T. 1985. Presence of zearalenone in New Zealand pasture leaves. N.Z. vet. J., 33: 193–193. [Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] [Google Scholar] and several mycotoxin-producing Fusarium isolates have recently been reported from pasture grass (3) Gallagher, R.T. 1985. One the oestrogenic mycotoxin zearalenone and the pasture fungus Fusarium culmorum. N.Z. vet. J., 33: 37–38. [Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] [Google Scholar] (Lauren pers.comm.). We now report on the incidence of Fusarium mycotoxins in New Zealand maize samples and on the production of mycotoxins by isolates obtained from maize and maize fields.