Liquid fermentation of microbial control agents for pests and diseases

• Grant number: 18/08238-0
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Innovative Research in Small Business - PIPE
• Start date: May 01, 2019
• End date: January 31, 2020
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Agronomy - Plant Health
• Principal Investigator: Thiago Rodrigues de Castro
• Grantee: Thiago Rodrigues de Castro
• Company: Koppert do Brasil Holding Ltda (Koppert)
• CNAE: Atividades de apoio à agricultura
• City: Piracicaba
• Associated researchers: Inajá Marchizeli Wenzel Rodrigues

Abstract

Recently many researches have been carried out mainly in the area of production of viable and infectious propagules of entomopathogenic fungi as well as antagonistic fungi such as Trichoderma ssp.. These works allowed the beginning of a revolution in the area of mass production of such organisms and now it becomes necessary to make feasible such methodologies for industrial scale in Brazil. The implementation of such a methodology will lead to the production of higher quality products and market prices more accessible to producers, facilitating the popularization of the use of biopesticides, as well as making it possible to increase production significantly, thus serving a larger area of more than 70 million hectares planted in Brazil. The objective of the present project is to evaluate the viability of the production of fungi present in the portfolio of the Brazilian subsidiary of Koppert, through the production in liquid fermentation. There are various parameters to be tested which can be altered and controlled in the bioreactor, such as pH, temperature, oxygenation, and liquid culture media produced with the use of different compounds. All batches produced will be tested for concentration, viability and bio-efficiency for future comparisons. With the results of the best parameters, the production of lots of inoculum will be carried out, which will be used in the tests of effectiveness against the target organisms of each microorganism (Fusarium verticillioides and Diatraea saccharalis - model organisms) to assess whether the final product has bio-efficacy. With the use of this new form of production is expected to increase the portfolio of the company 's products [Creation of new products based on new infective forms (blastospores and microsclerotia), increasing productivity and product quality (better control of production parameters) reduction of industrial waste production, production time and manpower. With the increase of the portfolio, the direct impact will be the greater use of the products in several areas against several targets and thus facilitating the popularization of biological control in the country. (AU)