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Topic 2: How Can My Environment Influence the Development of Mycotoxins?
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Syngenta is providing to farmers crop protection products, seeds and biologicals. We are also developing digital solutions for disease weed and also insect risk assessment. Our expertise is to bring solutions for plant potential yield but also quality. Mycotoxins have harmful effects for humans and animals. Since many years, we have collected samples of cereals and corn from France but also all Europe with data set of location, weather and agronomy linked to mycotoxin analysis results. This is the wider database of field samples analysed in Europe. From our digital expertise and big data mining with new machine learning techniques, we have developed robust prediction models. Mycotoxin management is a key challenge for food and feed safety. Risk prediction before crop harvest is a part of a solution. Different studies including Syngenta's one have pointed out the importance of agronomic factors explaining variability of mycotoxin content in the crop at harvest. Good agriculture practice such variety tolerance, residue management of previous crop and appropriate use of pesticides are crucial for mycotoxin mitigation in the field. As an example, in wheat production, fungicide applied on the year at flowering period have efficacy on common fungi like Fusarium preventing mycotoxin development with an average of 50% mycotoxin reduction when fungicide applied. New active ingredient under registration has even higher efficacy. However, in Europe, the acceptance of pesticide is challenged by a part of the society. It's why we are also doing research with new solutions like biologicals. We also have developed disease models for product recommendation. Apply only when it's necessary. The climate during crop cycle from flowering until harvest is the major factor for fungi development and mycotoxin production. Several climatic variables have been observed daily like rainfall, relative humidity, temperature and others. By example, for corn, three periods impact the risk occurrence for Deoxynivalenol and Zearalenone. Pre-flowering with low moisture and high temperature. Around flowering, high rain, moisture and temperature. And at the end of a cycle where rain and moisture with low temperature is favoring. With climate change, the mycotoxin risk could evolve. Heat and dry period could increase and be more beneficial for fungi like Aspergillus producing aflatoxin before harvest. Yes, with our huge database and statistical analysis, we can definitely predict the risk. Mycotoxin prediction models in cereal and corn were first developed in France 20 years ago and continuously used by 60 grain operators. Around 1 million hectares each year are monitored in their risk management plan. Comparing mycotoxin risk forecast to data set of analysis for European countries indicate a high degree of correlation. Since 2021, the models are used for mycotoxin prediction by countries in Europe. The project is now to test the accuracy of the models wider to other areas of production. Deploying the forecast before harvest in more countries is a key challenge for global mycotoxin risk management.