The use of Metarhizium anisopliae as a bioinsecticide is steeply increasing worldwide. However, to reduce the production costs, it is necessary to develop sophisticated techniques for conidia production. This work aimed to use a tray bioreactor to produce conidia of M. anisopliae ICB-425 in long rice and find the limiting bed depth in which the production is still viable. Experiments have been carried out to assess the influence of the air temperature and relative humidity on the spore concentration in order to determine the limiting temperature. Two scales of bioreactors in plastic packages have been used, containing 10 and 500 g of rice, and the results were similar. In the tray bioreactor, the bed depths of 2, 4 and 6 cm have been used, corresponding to the dry rice weights of 1, 2 and 3 kg, respectively, and the results were similar to the ones in plastic packages. A one-phase heat transfer model has been used to foresee the maximum temperature within the bed and the results agreed fairly well with the experimental ones. Using the model, a bed depth of 7 cm was found to be the limit for the tray bioreactor. The results obtained are very promising for the mass production of conidia of M. anisopliae at lower costs and with more effective control.
Keywords: Conidia production; Metarhizium anisopliae; One-phase heat transfer model; Rice; Scale-up; Tray bioreactor.