[Relationship between aflatoxin and sclerotia production in aspergillus flavus]

Eighty strains of Aspergillus flavus (AF) isolated from grain produced in Zhejiang Province were studied experimentally on their abilities of sclerotia production, and 51.3% of the strains could produce sclerotia in Czapek solution agar containing 3% sodium nitrate at 30 C incubation for 12 days, with an average diameter of 827 +/- 131 microns, and no toxigenic S strain producing abundant small sclerotia was found. Most of the toxigenic strains producing sclerotia were L strain. There were no significant difference in the rates and amount of sclerotia production between toxigenic and a toxigenic strains. There was difference in diameter of sclerotia produced between them, with a smaller one in the toxigenic strains.