Viability and pathogenicity of entomogenous fungi after prolonged storage on silica gel at −20 °C

Abstract

Fourteen species and six strains of fungi were tested for viability after their spores had been stored on silica gel crystals in test tubes at −20 °C. Some of the fungi were maintained up to 3 years without measurable loss of viability by this method, but others could not be stored or only for a few weeks. Three insect pathogenic species, Beauveria bassiana, Metarrhizium anisopliae, and Spicaria rileyi, retained pathogenicity after 3 years storage when laboratory bioassays were conducted against host insects.