Fusarium: How It Impacts Grain Quality and Safety

Old-time farmers used to say, “Bad grain can make even chickens go blind.” Turns out, they weren’t too far off. Any type of seed — vital for humans, animals, and birds — can turn toxic if it’s been attacked by other living organisms like bacteria, viruses, or fungi.

One of the most dangerous and widespread fungal enemies of crops is Fusarium. It’s a fast-spreading disease that can ruin plants — grains and legumes especially — in no time.

Now, farmers have a wide range of tools to fight mold and fungus. But even if you follow every rule in the book and know all the tricks for handling contaminated grain, it’s nearly impossible to fully keep Fusarium out of the fields. So the real question is: how do you minimize the damage it does? That’s where modern grain cleaning equipment comes in.

What Makes Fusarium So Dangerous — and Where Does It Come From?

Once Fusarium infects your crops, part of your yield is already gone. In some cases, Fusarium head blight has forced farmers to discard up to 75% of freshly harvested grain.

If you don’t remove it, that grain — and anything made from it — becomes toxic. Just one dinner roll made from Fusarium-infected flour can cause nausea or vomiting. Eat those rolls daily, and the health risks grow fast, as these fungi mess with your metabolism over time.

Protecting a field from Fusarium is a serious challenge. The fungus shows up under certain conditions. Here are the four main ways it gets in:

• Wind and insects
• High soil moisture (between 40–80%) combined with mild air temps (55–78°F)
• Crop residue from a previous infected harvest
• Using infected seed for planting

Fusarium’s Sneaky Side — and How to Deal With It

The only way to deal with Fusarium is through a full-system approach — starting with planting more resistant crop varieties and ending with removing leftover stubble after harvest.

But one of the most important steps? Cleaning your fresh harvest quickly and thoroughly to separate out the infected kernels.

Here’s the tricky part: most damaged seeds look different or weigh less than healthy ones — but not all. Some infected seeds look just fine. And even one “normal-looking” kernel, if it’s carrying a latent fungal infection, can spread mycotoxins (from Greek: mykes — fungus, toxicum — poison) to the rest of the grain.

This is especially dangerous for seed stock. Farmers know: if even 10% of the seeds in a batch are infected, you can’t use it for planting. At best, you’ll get poor germination. At worst, root rot will kill the young plants outright.

The Metra Solution: Smarter Grain Cleaning

This is where Metra grain cleaning machines make a real difference. These next-gen machines can sort grain not just by size, weight, or color — but also by health and seed potential.

“Our machines can spot and separate kernels infected with any kind of fungus,” says the manufacturer. “Not just Fusarium — also Septoria, smuts, pea weevils, you name it. Even aflatoxins, which tend to hit oil-rich crops like corn, soybeans, chickpeas, and more. Any grain damaged by toxins or pests gets automatically sent to a separate bin.”

Thanks to Metra’s unique design, these aerodynamic grain cleaners:

• Handle multiple cleaning stages at once — removing dirt, debris, wild wheat, and more
• Air-dry the grain as it moves through — reducing moisture by about 2% per pass

One Metra machine can easily replace 3 or 4 older units in a single line. Clean grain is separated by grade, which lets you get the best price for every batch. And infected kernels? Sorted out before they cause trouble in storage.

Bottom Line

Fungal toxins in grain have been around as long as farming itself. Even in the Old Testament, you’ll find stories of “red bread” — a sign of Fusarium and smut turning baked goods an unnatural color.
We haven’t yet found a way to fully destroy these fungi. But today’s farmers have learned to live with them — and fight back smart. Metra’s modern cleaning tech is one of the best tools out there for staying ahead.
These machines don’t just save time and money — they can boost your yield by up to 40%. That’s thanks to:

• Perfect seed calibration — uniform grain means uniform germination
• Gentle handling — Metra’s parts are designed not to damage seeds, unlike most other cleaners on the market

And that same gentle, precise cleaning works for all types of crops: wheat, corn, soybeans, lentils, sunflowers, hemp, alfalfa, poppy, oats, chia, barley, peas, beans — you name it.

Metra’s grain cleaning solutions are designed to tackle these common challenges, ensuring that small-scale farmers can maintain the highest standards of grain quality.

Contact us today to explore how our grain cleaning solutions can elevate your business