Entomopathogenic fungal (hyphomycetes) collection: Assessment of conidial viability

Twenty four strains of the entomopathogenic fungi (Hyphomycetes) Beauveria bassiana, Metarrhizium anisopliae, Nomuraea rileyi, Paecilomyces farinosus, P. fumosoroseus and P. lilacinus, maintained in the culture collection of Embrapa-Centro Nacional de Pesquisa de Recursos Geneticos e Biotecnologia ( Cenargen) and preserved by lyophilization and in liquid nitrogen, had their conidial viability assessed. Germination rates of 16- to 84-month-old cult ures stored in liquid nitrogen decreased, on average, less than 13.3%. For 29- to 49-month-old cultures preserved by lyophilization, the viability los s ranged, on average, from 28.6 to 94.5%. The results demonstrated the effi ciency of the tested methods, especially liquid nitrogen, in preserving the viability of entomopathogenic fungi.