SEALE-HAYNE EDUCATIONAL TRUST
INTERIM PROJECT REPORT, NOVEMBER 2011
The purpose of this form is for applicants in receipt of grants to provide the Trustees with a
report on the progress of their project
Please ensure that this Report is not more than three sides of A4 (Arial, font size 12).
Title of Project
Possible underestimation of toxic Deoxynivalenol in grainbased animal feeds produced in the South West.
Name of Applicant(s)
Richard Billington, William Vevers
Start date:
September 2010
Completion date:
April 2012
Funds awarded:
£2450
Funds spent:
£1306.93
Please attach a financial statement from your faculty/college accounting point showing
a breakdown of the costs incurred.
State the original objectives of the project:
Major objective: Assessment of DON-3-G content in locally grown grain with comparison to
levels of unconjugated DON
Minor objective: Measurement of DON release from DON-3-G during storage
Have those objectives been achieved? If not, please explain why.
The time allocated to this project stretches to August 2012; hence this report is a summary
of progress so far with a further report to be submitted by the 1st of April 2012.
The incidence of Fusarium head blight for both the winter and spring barley was very low
due to the dry weather conditions during anthesis and harvest, therefore the levels of
Deoxynivalenol and its conjugated form are likely to be below detectable limits. This has
meant the focus of the study has been on artificially spiked freshly ensiled green grain and
the occurrence of the conjugated form in addition to any modulation in Deoxynivalenol levels
following incubation with different strains of lactic acid bacteria and chemical preservatives.
All the samples have been collected and stored ready for HPLC analysis. Unfortunately the
HPLC system has been out of action for such analysis for 12 months and this has held the
project up. We have however recently commissioned a brand new system; hence the
provision of an extension is appreciated.
The barley inoculated with both the toxigenic strain of Fusarium culmorum and the pure form
of the toxin has also been harvested for HPLC analysis.
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Please summarise your project, outlining methods, results and conclusions
Methods
Barley was obtained immediately after combining and crimping (rolling,with a moisture
content of ~40%). The chemical preservative Crimpstore (Kelvin Cave Ltd) was added at 4
litres per tonne during crimping with the lactic acid treatments added in the laboratory to
untreated samples following compressing of grain into 100ml containers (3 replicates per
treatment) and the addition of Deoxynivalenol (250µg/container or 5µg/g of moist material).
The mini silo’s were incubated for 28 days at 15°C prior to milling and freezing for HPLC
analysis. Counts of lactic acid bacteria, yeasts/moulds and clostridia were made on MRS,
CODA and RCA agar plates respectively, to verify ensiling efficacy.
Results
The preliminary results of the crimped grain ensiling experiment indicate that the chemical
preservative Crimpstore reduced yeast and mould counts to almost zero whereas the lactic
acid bacterial inoculants did not shift the yeast/mould counts significantly from uninocuated
levels, although the best strains were in house strains isolated from wild birds rather than
commercial silage additives. No clostridia colonies were evident.and gas production was
insignificant.
What specific outcomes (tangible or intangible) have arisen from this research
(including publication, events, media interest and other forms of dissemination)?
The results so far have contributed to W. Vevers’ PhD thesis and have helped forge
collaborative ties with Kelvin Cave silage additives Ltd who facilitated the collection of
crimped barley.
On completion of the final stages of the project, an article will be published in Animal Feed
Science or similar.
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