Beauveria bassiana Growth and Development in Various Liquid Media

Beauveria bassiana is entomopathogenic fungi that can be cultivated on solid or liquid media. The cultivation of B. bassiana on cracked corn medium leave unwanted waste. Therefore, cultivating B. bassiana on liquid media is expected to shorten the cultivation time and leave no waste. The purpose of the research was to analyze the physical characteristics of B. bassiana colony, the physical changes occur in various formulations of liquid media composition, the changes in the nutritional content and pH level of the growth media, and blastospore density contained in each liquid medium. This research used experimental complete randomized design with six treatments and 4 times repetition. The main phases of this research were the subculture of B. bassiana isolate; the preparation of liquid media consisting of distilled water, Potato Dextrose Broth (PDB), Sugar potato extract (Ekstraks Kentang Gula/EKG), EKG+NPK 1%, EKG+coconut water, EKG+NPK 1%+coconut water each for 150 ml; B. bassisana inoculation into the liquid media; incubation process for 30 days; and measurement of fungal blastospore density, medium pH, and carbohydrate, protein, and lipid content. The results obtained from the morphological observation of B.bassiana on liquid media showed that the colonies are white, growing on the surface of the media with powdery texture. There are some differences in the nutrient content of the media before after 30 days of B. Bassiana incubation. After the incubation, there is an increase in carbohydrate and decrease in protein and lipid content, as well as an increase in pH level of the media. EKG+coconut water medium showed the highest blastospore density by 1.26 x 108 cell/mL on the 15th day after inoculation.