Culture media selection for mass production of Isaria fumosorosea and Isaria farinosa

Abstract

This work investigated the production of the fungi Isaria fumosorosea and Isaria farinosa in biphasic fermentation using agro-industrial products and residues. Combinations of natural liquid substrates, alternative to the complete medium and potato dextrose medium, were evaluated. The best liquid media were sugarcane molasses + rice broth, rice broth + yeast and sugarcane molasses + yeast + rice broth, which resulted in the highest viable propagule concentration. The molasses + rice broth medium was selected for the next phase of the study in which the production of both fungal isolates was evaluated in solid grain substrates. In solid-state fermentation, the best conidia production was achieved with the soybean meal and broken corn for I. farinosa, and whole rice and broken rice for I. fumosorosea. Results demonstrated that the two fungal species could be rapidly produced with higher yield of conidia on agro-industrial resources by using biphasic fermentation techniques.