Production of Metarhizium anisopliae spores using nutrient‐impregnated membranes and its economic analysis

Metarhizium anisopliae spores were produced on nutrient‐impregnated membranes (NIMs). The NIM system involved wetting the membrane with a spore and nutrient suspension, followed by harvesting the spores produced after incubation. The cost efficiency of spore production was assessed for a range of nutrient sources and membrane types. Skim milk powder (20 g l^‐1) was found to be the most cost‐effective nutrient source of the nine nutrients examined. Yield was 5.7 × 10⁶ spores/cm² after 28 days incubation on a paper membrane. Supplementation of the skim milk with either sucrose (2 g l^‐1) or dextrose + KNO₃ maximized yield. Superwipe, an absorbent fibrous material, was the most efficient of 16 membranes tested which ranged from fibreglass mesh to paper and cloth. A series of small pilot plants were built, but the cost efficiency of spore production decreased as the size of the membrane increased from 24 × 24 cm to 270 × 15 cm and up to 100 × 80 cm. Yield on the two smaller pilot plants was over 10⁷spores/cm², but the cost (nutrient and membrane only) of producing 10¹³ spores (standard dose required per hectare) was around $A37 and was found not to be competitive with spore production on grain.     

New Solid-State Fermentation Chamber for Bulk Production of Aerial Conidia of Fungal Biocontrol Agents on Rice

A novel solid-state fermentation apparatus, namely an upright multi-tray conidiation chamber, was developed to facilitate the production of aerial conidia of fungal biocontrol agents, such as Beauveria bassiana. The chamber with 25 bottom-meshed metal trays had a capacity of ≥50 kg rice with each tray holding ≥2 kg. In repeated trials, a mean yield of 2.4 (1.8–2.7) × 10¹² conidia kg⁻¹ rice was harvested from the 7-day cultures of B. bassiana in a fully loaded chamber. The new apparatus has a high potential for bulk production of fungal conidia.     

Improving secondary pick up of insect fungal pathogen conidia by manipulating host behaviour

It is often assumed that efficient application of a mycoinsecticide involves hitting the target pest insect directly with a lethal dose of conidia. However, secondary pick‐up of conidia from surrounding vegetation may be a more important source of inoculum. We have investigated ways of increasing conidia acquisition by enhancing host movement. The aphid alarm pheromone, E‐β‐farnesene, significantly increased mortality among peach potato aphids. Myzus persicae Sulzer, that were exposed for 24 h to discs of green pepper leaf sprayed with conidia of Verticillium lecanii (Zimmerman) Viegas then transferred to fresh untreated discs to allow disease development. A more practical approach to increasing conidia pick‐up appears to be the use of sub‐lethal doses of the chloronicotinyl insecticide imidacloprid. One percent of the recommended dose, applied systemically, dramatically increased aphid movement; quantified by image analysis of videotaped aphid behaviour. This resulted in greater mortality from mycosis in experiments where aphids were exposed to insecticide‐treated leaf discs that had been sprayed with fungal conidia. A comparison with results from an experiment where conidia were sprayed directly onto aphids which were feeding on insecticide‐infused pepper discs established that synergy was due to an indirect effect of the insecticide, i.e. through increased movement, rather than a direct effect viz. predisposition of insecticide‐weakened insects to disease.     

Survival of Microorganisms under the Extreme Conditions of the Atacama Desert

Spores of Bacillus subtilis, conidia of Aspergillus niger, versicolor and ochraceus andcells of Deinococcus radiodurans have been exposed in the dark at two locations (at about 23°S and 24°S) in the Atacama Desert for up to 15 months. B. subtilis spores (survival 15%) and A. niger conidia (survival 30%) outlived the other species. The survival of the conidiaand spores species was only slightly poorer than that of thecorresponding laboratory controls. However, the Deinococcus radiodurans cells did not survive the desertexposure, because they are readily inactivated at relativehumidities between 40 and 80% which typically occurduring desert nights. Cellular monolayers of the dry sporesand conidia have in addition been exposed to the full sunlight for up to several hours. The solar fluences causing 63% loss in viability (F₃₇-values) have been determined.These F₃₇-values are compared with those determined atother global locations such as Punta Arenas (53°S), Key Largo (25°N) or Mainz (50°N) during the same season. Thesolar UVB radiation kills even the most resistantmicroorganisms within a few hours due to DNA damages. Thedata are also discussed with respect to possible similaritiesbetween the climatic conditions of the recent Atacama Desertand the deserts of early Mars.     

A New γ-Dihydropyrone from Streptomyces sp. as a Microtubule Association Inhibitor toward Pronuclear Fusion in Sea Urchin Eggs

A conidia suspension of Magnaporthe grisea carried elicitor activity that induced the expression of defense-related genes and the production of H₂O₂ in suspension-cultured rice cells. The levels of H₂O₂ produced were dependent on fungal isolates and were correlated with the catalase activity in the supernatant fraction of each conidia suspension, not with gene-for-gene interactions.     

Bipolaris eleusines,a potential mycoherbicide candidate for control of barnyardgrass (Echinochloa crus-galli)

An isolate of Bipolaris eleusines was investigated as a potential candidate for biocontrol of barnyardgrass and additional weeds in paddy rice fields and for safety to selected crop species under greenhouse conditions. Barnyardgrass appeared more susceptible at the three-leaf stage than older plants, and disease severity increased as the fungal inoculum increased from 1 × 10⁵ to 1 × 10⁷ conidia/ml when sprayed till run-off. The high application rate caused 73% mortality of barnyardgrass, relative to the non-treated control, but increasing application rate to >1 × 10⁷ conidia/ml did not enhance efficacy (P >.05). This B. eleusines isolate showed no pathogenicity to rice (Oryza sativa spp. indica, O. sativa spp. japonica and an O. sativa hybrid), corn, wheat or any dicot crop species tested while causing slight infection on sorghum and barley. We conclude that B. eleusines, with high efficacy against barnyardgrass and demonstrated safety to rice, is a promising mycoherbicide candidate worthy of further evaluation and development for control of barnyardgrass in paddy rice fields.     

Germination of the entomopathogenic fungus Verticillium lecanii on scales of the glasshouse whitefly Trialeurodes vaporariorum

In a series of laboratory experiments, tobacco leaf discs infested with scales of the glasshouse whitefly Trialeurodes vaporariorum, were immersed in suspensions of conidia of three strains of the entomopathogenic fungus Verticillium lecanii. The germination of conidia on the insect was recorded and compared with the germination of conidia applied to Czapek—Dox Complete Medium. Laboratory bioassays were performed to record the mortality of whitefly scales exposed to conidia of all three fungal strains. The rate of germination of conidia on the whitefly scales was much reduced compared to that oh complete medium. Differences were recorded in the rate of germination of the three strains on complete medium, but not on the whitefly scales. There was no correlation between the pathogenicity of the strains to whitefly scales in laboratory bioassays and the rate of germination on the host.     

两种表面活性剂对玫烟色棒束孢PF904菌株侵染小菜蛾幼虫的影响

【目的】在前期筛选试验的基础上,比较表面活性剂对玫烟色棒束孢Isaria fumosoroseus PF904菌株侵染小菜蛾Plutella xylostella 3龄幼虫的增效作用,获得可提高玫烟色棒束孢PF904防治效果的助剂。【方法】通过扫描电镜观察和室内致病力试验,测定喷施分别添加表面活性剂聚二甲基硅氧烷(OFX-0193)（终浓度125 mg/L）和二异丁基萘磺酸钠(Nekal)(终浓度250 mg/L）的玫烟色棒束孢PF904孢子悬浮液后玫烟色棒束孢PF904在小菜蛾3龄幼虫体表的孢子附着量及对小菜蛾3龄幼虫的侵染速率和致病力。【结果】添加250 mg/L Nekal和125 mg/L OFX-0193可显著提高玫烟色棒束孢PF904孢子悬浮液在小菜蛾3龄幼虫体表各结构区的孢子附着量,其中添加250 mg/L Nekal的玫烟色棒束孢PF904孢子悬浮液在小菜蛾3龄幼虫体表刺状突起结构区、平缓结构区和嵴状突起结构区的孢子附着量分别为对照(添加清水的孢子悬浮液)的2.19, 1.78和1.94倍,说明Nekal提高了玫烟色棒束孢PF904的孢子附着率;添加250 mg/L Nekal和125 mg/L OFX-0193均显著缩短了玫烟色棒束孢PF904孢子萌发时间,促进附着孢的形成,提高了玫烟色棒束孢PF904的侵染速率。室内致病力测定结果表明,玫烟色棒束孢PF904孢子悬浮液中添加250 mg/L Nekal和125 mg/L OFX-0193可显著提高玫烟色棒束孢PF904孢子悬浮液对小菜蛾3龄幼虫的致病力,其中添加250 mg/L Nekal的玫烟色棒束孢PF904孢子悬浮液对小菜蛾3龄幼虫的校正死亡率达79.2%,致死中时(LT₅₀)降低为2.71 d,说明Nekal的增效作用显著。【结论】250 mg/L Nekal为玫烟色棒束孢PF904的适宜的助剂和添加浓度,可显著提高其对小菜蛾幼虫的防治效果。     

Regularities in the Germination of Conidia of Phytopathogenic Fungi

The autoregulation of conidium germination in phytopathogenic micromycetes of the genera Fusarium, Botrytis, and Bipolaris was studied. It was shown that Trichoderma longibrachiatum was less competitive than Fusarium oxysporum after their simultaneous inoculation but inhibited the phytopathogen growth in the case of earlier introduction. In the latter case, no autoinhibition of the germination of F. oxysporum conidia occurred; moreover, a cooperative effect was observed, i.e., the number of germinated F. oxysporum conidia increased with an increase in their density.