Author
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Jackson, Mark |
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Submitted to: Society of Industrial Microbiology Annual Meeting
Publication Type: Abstract Only Publication Acceptance Date: 8/2/2001 Publication Date: N/A Citation: N/A Interpretive Summary: Technical Abstract: Extensive research has been conducted to develop commercial microbial biocontrol agents against various insect pests, weed pests and plant diseases. While regulatory issues and market demand have hindered the development of some potential biopesticides, the limited commercial success in using living microbial biocontrol agents stems primarily from difficulties in mass-producing and stabilizing these agents and from the lack of consistent pest control under field conditions. Low-cost production and formulation methods which yield stable, effective fungal and bacterial propagules are needed to overcome these constraints. Liquid culture fermentation methods are well suited to the production of most bacterial and many fungal biopesticides. While deep-tank fermentation offers numerous economic and developmental advantages, not all fungal biopesticides are amenable to this production method. The selection of fungal biopesticides suited to liquid culture production requires evaluation of numerous criteria including mode of growth, rate of propagule formation, nutritional influence on propagule formation, product stability, and product efficacy. In addition, the propagule produced in submerged culture (conidia, blastospores, chlamydospores, microsclerotia) must be appropriate for the desired biocontrol application. This talk will focus on the economic and biological constraints that can limit the use of liquid culture fermentation for fungal biopesticide production. |
