**3. Conclusion**

Food and feed crops are consistently threatened by mycotoxigenic fungi and compound their infection by depositing toxic metabolites, including mycotoxins. Preharvest management of mycotoxin contamination is vital to maintaining contamination levels below economically feasible and legislated thresholds. Planting genotypes with enhanced host resistance is considered the most practical, affordable and environmentally sound method of controlling mycotoxigenic fungi and their mycotoxins. However, integrating resistant varieties with good agricultural practises such as crop rotation, chemical/biological control and other strategies that optimise plant production by minimising stressors may further reduce the risks associated with mycotoxin contamination. Resistance to mycotoxigenic fungi exists and has been identified in appropriate breeding materials but such resistance needs to be introduced in high-yielding and locally adapted hybrids. To date, conventional breeding has not been able to introgress disease and/or mycotoxin resistance into important staple crops like maize. Therefore, further research is required into factors with a greater efficacy to reduce mycotoxigenic fungi and mycotoxins preharvest as resistant varieties are being developed.
