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Title: LARGE SCALE PRODUCTION OF CHLAMYDOSPORES OF GLIOCLADIUM VIRENS STRAIN GL-21IN SUBMERGED CULTURE

Author
item EYAL, JACOB - THERMO TRILOGY CORP.
item BAKER, CHARLES - THERMO TRILOGY CORP.
item REEDER, JEROME - THERMO TRILOGY CORP.
item DEVANE, WILLIAM - THERMO TRILOGY CORP.
item Lumsden, Robert

Submitted to: Journal of Industrial Microbiology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/27/1997
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Biological control of plant diseases is an emerging technology needed in agriculture to reduce dependence on synthetic chemical fungicides, to control diseases not currently controllable, and to be used as components of sustainable agriculture strategies and IPM systems. The research in this paper describes the procedures used for production of large quantities sof biomass of the biocontrol fungus, Gliocladium virens, in liquid fermentation for production of the commercial product, SoilGard. The objectives of the study were to determine the key economic process parameters, fermentation kinetics, and reproducibility of the fermentation of the fungus, related to the morphology of the fungus when examined by electron microscopy. This information is useful to research scientists and private industry personnel that are developing biological control products for agriculture.

Technical Abstract: SoilGard is a commercial microbial fungicide containing chlamydospores of Gliocladium virens strain GL-21. The formulation is registered with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) by Thermo Trilogy Corporation, Columbia, Maryland. The biocontrol agent was developed in cooperation with the Biocontrol of Plant Diseases Laboratory (BPDL), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and is targeted for controlling damping-off diseases caused by Rhizoctonia solani and Pythium ultimum in vegetable and ornamental greenhouses. Formulation requires production of chlamydospore biomass in liquid fermentation carried out in 20 liter, 1500 liter, and 4000 liter submerged liquid fermentors. Key economic process parameters, fermentation kinetics and the reproducibility of the fermentation at this scale were evaluated and analyzed. Starter culture quality and maturity of chlamydospores were identified as critical for obtaining successful fermentations.