UTTAR PRADESH JOURNAL OF ZOOLOGY

Entomopathogenic fungi are important biological control agents with potential applications in the sustainable management of insect pests. The present laboratory study evaluated the mass-production potential of selected entomopathogenic fungi on synthetic and natural media, with emphasis on the duration required for mycelial coverage and spore yield. Four fungi, namely Isaria fumosorosea, Metarhizium anisopliae, Beauveria bassiana and Lecanicillium lecanii, were cultured on solid and liquid synthetic media, cereal grains, vegetable-based substrates, cashew apple and natural liquid media. The effect of supplementation with baker's yeast and insect homogenate was also examined. The media were inoculated with fungal cultures and incubated under laboratory conditions. Mycelial coverage was recorded visually, and spore yield was estimated after serial dilution using a Neubauer hemocytometer.

Among the fungi tested, I. fumosorosea showed comparatively faster mycelial growth across several media. The shortest duration for surface coverage was recorded on sugarcane juice supplemented with insect homogenate. Natural liquid media generally supported faster surface growth than solid synthetic and natural substrates. In terms of sporulation, L. lecanii produced the highest spore yield on red rice supplemented with insect homogenate, reaching 7.00 × 10⁵ spores/g. Among synthetic media, carrot dextrose agar supported comparatively higher mean spore production than the other synthetic media tested. The results indicate that locally available natural substrates, particularly cereal grains and natural liquid media, may serve as useful alternatives for laboratory-scale multiplication of entomopathogenic fungi. The study also suggests that media supplementation can influence growth and sporulation, although the response varied according to fungal species and substrate type.