Storage Capacity of Entomopathogenic Nematodes in Barricade Gel and Potassium Polyacrylate Hydrogel.

Entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) used as biocontrol agents are sensitive to ultraviolet (UV) light, high temperature, and desiccation. Thus, formulations have been developed to protect EPNs during application. However, the ability of these formulations to enhance storage capacity has not been investigated. This study analyzed storage capacity (survival and efficacy) of EPN species, (SGI 245), (ROOI 352) and (SG I35) produced either or and formulated in 2% gel of either Barricade or potassium polyacrylate hydrogel (PPH). The formulations were stored at 10°C and survival of the infective juvenile nematodes (IJs) was evaluated at two-weeks intervals for eight weeks. The efficacy of formulated nematodes was evaluated using . After two weeks, all control treatments had 0% IJ survival for all the three isolates, whereas the gel formulations exhibited 58-76% survival. The three isolates in both the Barricade gel and PPH formulations exhibited 37-69% IJ survival at six weeks, which declined to 0-13% after eight weeks. Both formulations of the three isolates were 60-90% effective at six weeks. The -produced IJs had a higher survival than the -produced IJs for and . However, the -produced IJs were more effective at killing than the -produced EPNs for but not the spp. In conclusion, Barricade and PPH gel formulations substantially increased survival of the three EPN species during storage.