Exploratory evaluation of alternative liquid culture media for submerged cultivation of Beauveria bassiana

Abstract

Beauveria bassiana is a key entomopathogenic fungus biological pest control, representing a sustainable alternative to chemical pesticides. However, its large-scale production large-scale production still faces challenges related to scalability and optimization of propagule production in liquid media. This study aimed to evaluate different culture medium formulations for the cultivation of B. bassiana. The experimental design included three starch sources (potato broth, sweet potato flour, and rice flour), three sugar sources (dextrose, commercial sugar, and molasses), and nitrogen supplementation (ammonium sulfate), evaluated at 30, 48, and 60 hours. Potato broth indicated higher growth among the starch sources (6.18 log CFU mL⁻¹), while molasses presented promising results as a carbon source (6.22 log CFU mL⁻¹). The addition of ammonium sulfate increased biomass production to 6.14 log CFU mL⁻¹, compared to 6.04 log CFU mL⁻¹ in non-supplemented media. These findings suggest that differences in nutrient composition may influence the growth of B. bassiana in submerged culture. The results suggest that the combination of potato broth, molasses, and ammonium sulfate exhibited the most promising performance for optimizing B. bassiana production in liquid fermentation systems.