Mass production of Nomuraea rileyi and influence of food grains on its pathogenicity

Seven natural substrates (crushed grains) viz. rice, sorghum, bajra, wheat, maize, ragi and pigeonpea, were evaluated for their suitability to mass production of Nomuraea rileyi. Sorghum was found to be the most suitable having high potential when fortified with 1% yeast extract. It produced the maximum of 13.66 x 108 conidia/g amongst all substrates and also reported the lowest of 2.06 x 105 conidia/ml LC50 against Spodoptera litura (F.). Rice was found to be the next best substrate with production of 13.21 x 108 conidia/g and LC50 of 3.49 x 105 conidia/ml.