ARS | Publication request: DESIGNING EXPERIMENTS FOR EVALUATING FUNGAL CULTURES AND HARVESTING AND DRYING FUNGAL PROPAGULES

Submitted to: USDA Mexico International Workshop on Agricultural Biotechnology
Publication Type: Proceedings/Symposium
Publication Acceptance Date: October 26, 2003
Publication Date: December 1, 2004
Citation: Jackson, M.A. 2004. Designing experiments for evaluating fungal cultures and harvesting and drying fungal propagules. In: Galan-Wong, L.J., Elias-Santos, M., Tamez-Guerra, P. Quintero-Ramirez, R. Quintero-Zapata, I. (Editors). Procesos Biotecnologicos. Primera Edicion. Universidad de Nuevo Leon, Mexico. Chapter 20. p. 228-231.

Technical Abstract: The main objective of this laboratory session was to show students how to design and evaluate experiments to determine if fungal biocontrol agents have the potential to be produced using liquid culture fermentation. Media design strategies were demonsrated and discussed and media formulation protocols described. Students microscopically observed fungal propagules such as microsclerotia, conidia, and blastospores from cultures that were started prior to the class. In order to evaluate the desiccation tolerance of the fungal propagules produced in the various cultures, the cultures were harvested and processed for air-drying.