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ARS Home » Plains Area » Sidney, Montana » Northern Plains Agricultural Research Laboratory » Pest Management Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #240156

Title: Further Progress with Metarhizium Microsclerotial Production

Author
item JARONSKI, STEFAN
item JACKSON, MARK

Submitted to: IOBC/WPRS Bulletin (Abstract for Conference Proceedings)
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/15/2009
Publication Date: 7/1/2009
Citation: Jaronski, S., Jackson, M.A. 2009. Further Progress with Metarhizium Microsclerotial Production. Insect Pathogens and Insect Parasitic Nematodes Proceedings. IOBC/WPRS Bulletin. 45:275-278.

Interpretive Summary: Microsclerotium production by Metarhizium anisopliae, previously reported for flask scale, was successfully achieved at a 100-Liter fermenter scale. The resulting granular formulations readily conidiated on water agar or in moist soil to the same extent as reported for flask fermentations. Both Pharmamedia and Hycase M were suitable substitutes for the original casamino acids, with the former being slightly superior in terms of subsequent conidial production in soil. Both were slightly superior to casamino acids in terms of efficacy against the sugarbeet root maggot in non-sterile clay soil. Rates as low as 20 mg microsclerotial formulation per 100 grams nonsterile clay soil yielded 50% larval sugarbeet root maggot mortality within 1 week, >90% at 2 weeks.

Technical Abstract: Microsclerotium production by Metarhizium anisopliae, previously reported for flask scale, was successfully achieved at a 100-Liter fermenter scale. The resulting granular formulations readily conidiated on water agar or in moist soil to the same extent as reported for flask fermentations. Both Pharmamedia and Hycase M were suitable substitutes for the original casamino acids, with the former being slightly superior in terms of subsequent conidial production in soil. Both were slightly superior to casamino acids in terms of efficacy against the sugarbeet root maggot in non-sterile clay soil. Rates as low as 20 mg microsclerotial formulation per 100 grams nonsterile clay soil yielded 50% larval sugarbeet root maggot mortality within 1 week, >90% at 2 weeks.