In-vitro mass multiplication of native isolates of Heterorhabditis indica on different artificial growth media in Haryana, India

An investigation was conducted for testing the effect of five different artificial growth media on mass multiplication of native isolates of Heterorhabditis indica (H. indica D-2 and H. indica D-6) under in vitro conditions in the Department of Nematology, CCS HAU, Hisar (Haryana). The selected media for mass culturing of entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) included modified Wout's media-I, modified Wout's media-II, modified Wout's media-III, dog biscuit media, and momedia. Under aseptic conditions, the nematodes were injected in the flasks at the rate of 2000 infective juveniles (IJs) per 150 ml flask, and EPNs were harvested every 30 days. Among the tested media, the modified dog biscuit media was found to be the most effective for mass multiplication. Modified dog biscuit media produced the highest IJs of H. indica D-2 (865286 IJs) and H. indica D-6 (819046 IJs), followed by modified Wout's medium-III. Under in vitro conditions, both virulent strains of H. indica showed the lowest growth and mass rearing of IJs in modified Wout's media-II and dog biscuit media. All the treatments applied to the two strains significantly differed from each other in terms of IJs multiplication. According to the current study, the modified dog biscuit media outperformed other tested media for mass multiplications of native isolates of H. indica in Haryana.