Occurrence Pattern of Fusarium Head Blight Toxins in Barley and Wheat in Korea

The occurrence of Fusarium head blight mycotoxins was analyzed in barley and wheat collected from 2020 to 2024 in the main production areas in Korea. In all years, the mean level and incidence of nivalenol (NIV) was higher than deoxynivalenol (DON). The percentage of samples where DON and NIV were detected together was up 89.7%, and the proportion of samples where NIV was greater than DON ranged from 65.6% to 92.9%. The occurrence of DON and NIV was higher in barley than in wheat. These results indicate that NIV levels are predominantly higher than DON, and that mycotoxin levels in domestic barley and wheat are determined by NIV rather than DON. It is therefore necessary to continue to monitor the occurrence of NIV and to develop NIV-targeted control technologies in the future.