Accumulation of Secondary Metabolites Formed by Field Fungi in Autumn-Saved Herbage

Taking into consideration the fact that in recent years weather conditions were sufficient to feed cattle on pasture until late autumn or early winter, an experiment was carried out during the years 2000 and 2003 on a low input pasture to show the effect of the pre-utilization date (June, July, August) and the harvest date in the autumn/winter period (November, December, January) on the accumulation of the following secondary metabolites formed by fungi: ergosterol (ERG), ochratoxin A (OA) and zearalenone (ZEA) in the autumn-saved herbage. The highest levels of concentration of these metabolites were 470.3, 1.63 and 34.9 ng g -1 respectively. Lower ERG levels were influenced by later pre-utilization, which is a logical consequence of the shorter period of time for field toxigenic fungi development. Pre-utilization in August is strongly recommended as the concentration of ochratoxin A (OA) in the autumn-saved herbage in January was the lowest (not much changed in comparison with earlier harvest). Later harvest was also affected by higher ZEA concentrations in the analysed samples, which indicates that, under conditions of prolonged pasture utilization, field toxigenic fungi (producing ZEA) increased their population and had proper weather conditions stimulating the biosynthesis of the toxin. The later suggests that the final harvest of autumn-saved herbage should be made rather in December than in January. Higher levels of humidity influenced higher concentrations of ERG and ZEA in the autumn-saved herbage.