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.