The selection of suitable media with respect to growth and sporulation of entomopathogenic fungi is an obligatory precondition for their large scale mass production and field application henceforth. In tandem with this, laboratory experiments were conducted to demonstrate the efficacy of using different liquid and solid media for the mass multiplication and estimation of conidial count of entomopathogenic fungal isolates of B. bassiana and M. anisopliae for the management of walnut weevil, Alcidodes porrectirostris Marshall. The results of mass culturing on liquid media tested, indicated that highest conidial count per unit area after inoculation was obtained for Bb-BH2 isolate (32.02 × 104 conidia/cm2) followed by Bb-BH1 (31.08 × 104 conidia/cm2) on Potato-dextrose agar (PDA) medium compared to Sabouraud dextrose agar (SDA)and Oat-meal agar (OMA) media. In case of solid media evaluated, maximum sporulation of Bb-BH2 was recorded on rice grains (6.62 × 106spore/g) while as in Ma-PO

Media, conidia, isolate, rice, control, experiment, multiplication

There were two findings in this study. First, growth and sporulation of B. bassiana and M. anisopliae isolates is affected by different liquid and solid substrate culture conditions. Second, among the liquid media tested, PDA medium ensured the maximum growth and sporulation while as among the solid media, maximum hyphal growth and conidial count of B. bassiana occurred on rice grains and that of M. anisopliae isolates, it occurred on wheat grains. These media should therefore be used for the mass multiplication of these isolates for managing A. porrectirostris when used under field conditions.

Guroo, M. A., Gupta, R. K., Ahmad, H., Gani, M., Bali, K., Mantoo, M. A., Singh, A. K., Gupta, A. and Sharma, M. (2021). Substrate Evaluation for Mass Multiplication of Entomopathogenic Fungal Isolates for Management of Walnut Weevil. Biological Forum –