Methyl bromide fumigation for the control of Aspergilli and Penicillia in stored grains

Fumigation with methyl bromide (MeBr) at a concentration of 120 mg/1 maintained for 4 h at 25°C caused 100% mortality of spores of Aspergillus ochraceus, A. flavus, Penicillium citrinum, P. chrysogenum and P. cyclopium. However, 40% of an A. niger spore population retained its viability after this treatment. Increasing the duration of fumigation to 24 h at a concentration of 40 mg/1 MeBr caused 100% spore mortality of all fungi tested. Total growth inhibition of 24 h-old mycelia was achieved with 40 mg/1 for 24 h or 120 mg/1 for 4 h. These concentrations for the same period of exposure were not inhibitory for 7-day-old mycelia of any of the fungi tested. In A. niger-inoculated wheat grains fumigated with 100 mg/1 MeBr for 24 h, 20% yielded fungal contaminants after 16 days of storage and 100% after 29 days. There was a marked drop in the percent germination of the grains after fumigation, whereas the free fatty acids level was higher than in unfumigated grain. The results of the in vivo study suggest that MeBr given at a commercial dosage for 24 h is not only ineffective in destroying the internal inocula of wheat grains but also enables their subsequent development by weakening the resistance of grains to fungal attack.