Production of conidia by entomopathogenic fungi: from inoculants to final quality tests.

Facundo Muñiz-Paredes, Francisco Miranda-Hernández, Octavio Loera

World journal of microbiology & biotechnology 2017 Mar

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Demand for biopesticides is growing due to the increase of areas under integrated pest management worldwide. Conidia from entomopathogenic fungi play a major role as infective units in the current market of biopesticides. Success in a massive production of fungal conidia include the use of proper long-term conservation microbial methods, aimed at preserving the phenotypic traits of the strains. The development of suitable inoculants should also be considered since that favours a rapid germination and invasiveness of the substrate in solid state cultures (SSC). After the selection of a suitable fungal strain, proven optimization approaches for SSC mainly include the combination of substrates, moisture, texturizers, aeration and moderate stress to induce conidiation. Nonetheless, during storage and upon application in open fields, conidia either as free propagules or imbibed in formulations are subjected to stress due to abiotic factors, then quality should be preserved to resist such harsh conditions. All of these topics are analysed in this report.

Citation

Facundo Muñiz-Paredes, Francisco Miranda-Hernández, Octavio Loera. Production of conidia by entomopathogenic fungi: from inoculants to final quality tests. World journal of microbiology & biotechnology. 2017 Mar;33(3):57