Occurrence of Mycotoxins in Maize and Status of their Management by the Farmers and Marketers in Abuja, Nigeria

Abstract

The occurrence and extent of usage of control strategies against mycotoxins   in maize (Zea mays L.) by the farmers and marketers in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja, Nigeria was investigated using Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry (LC/MS-MS) and structured questionnaires involving 263 respondents respectively.  Four out of the nine major mycotoxins was detected in >59.00% of the 30 investigated composite samples. About 50.00% of the samples were contaminated with Aflatoxin B₁ (AFB₁₎ above the EU regulatory limit of 5 μg kg-¹ in the maize raw grain samples. About 26.67% of the grains were contaminated with Aflatoxin B₂ (AFB₂) above the regulatory limit of 10 µg kg-¹. Up to 80.00% of the raw grains were contaminated with Fumonisin B₁ (FB₁₎ above the regulatory limit of 1000 µg kg-¹.  It was indicated that only 19.87% of the farmers regularly use the management strategies against seed-borne fungi infection and mycotoxins build-up before and during maize harvesting while up to 48.80% of marketers regularly do so after harvesting. There was an indication that maize grains in the territory were contaminated with toxigenic fungi in view of mycotoxins load and due to inadequate usage of management practices.  Increasing awareness on the management strategies to mitigate mycotoxin load in maize in the FCT, Abuja, Nigeria is imperative.

Keywords: Farmers; Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry, Maize grains, Management strategies, Marketers, Regulated mycotoxins