LETTER TO THE EDITOR

 

EVALUATION OF SOLID STATE FERMENTATION IN BAGS FOR MASS PRODUCTION OF THE STRAIN C-01 OF Lecanicillium lecanii (Zimerman) zare & GAMS

 

Dear Sir:

The strain C-01 of Lecanicillium lecanii was isolated from Coffee Roya pustule (Hemileia vastratix Berk & Brome) in Bahía Honda, Pinar del Río, and it is conserved in the Fungal Culture Colletion of the Mycology Laboratory at the National Center for Animal and Plant Health (CENSA). This strain has shown potential for aphid and whitefly control. With the aim of obtaining high quality of inocula from this fungus for their use as biological control agent, a solid state fermentation methodology in bags developed at CENSA was used, following good manufacturing practices. Conidia production was between 2 x 10⁸ and 1,6 x 10⁹ conidia per gram of solid substrate with viability near to 80 %. Maximal conidia production occurs in 15 days using a 5 day inocula in liquid medium.

Jersys Arévalos*, Adayakni Sánchez*, E. González**, Nivian Montes de Oca***
y L. Hidalgo Díaz*

Grupos de Plagas Agrícolas*, Fitopatología**. Dirección de Protección de Plantas, Dirección de Calidad***, Centro Nacional de Sanidad Agropecuaria (CENSA), Apartado 10, San José de las Lajas, La Habana, Cuba. Correo electrónico: [e-mail]