Agriculture & Food, Volume 13, 2025

Rezumat: This study evaluated the production of mycelial biomass and conidia of native Metarhizium anisopliae isolates using both liquid and solid media, with a focus on the influence of vessel type on submerged fermentation. Two isolates (Ma ICDPP#1 and Ma ICDPP#2) were cultivated in liquid medium in conventional and baffled Erlenmeyer flasks to analyse the impact on biomass accumulation and blastospore concentration. The results showed that Ma ICDPP#2 isolate produced significantly higher amounts of biomass and blastospores in conventional Erlenmeyer flasks compared to baffled flasks (7.65 × 10⁵ blastospores/ml vs. 0.65 × 10⁵ blastospores/ml, p < 0.001). For Ma ICDPP#1, the differences were less pronounced, and the flask type did not significantly influence biomass production (p > 0.05). Based on these findings, Ma ICDPP#2 was selected for further testing on solid substrates. For solid-substrate production (barley seeds), Ma ICDPP#2 generated an average of 1.05 × 10⁹ aerial conidia per gram of bioproduct after 14 days of incubation. The conclusions suggest that conventional flasks are more effective for biomass and blastospore production, while Ma ICDPP#2 exhibits superior potential for fungal bioproduct applications due to its higher yield.