Effect of storage media and temperature on viability and pathogenicity of North Indian populations of entomopathogenic nematodes

Studies were conducted to find out the effect of storage media (sterilized distilled water with a drop of Triton X-100 and sterilized sponge) and temperature (10 and 25°C) on viability and pathogenicity of local strains of Heterorhabditis bacteriophora and Steinernema feltiae. The storage quality of S. feltiae proved better than H. bacteriophora. The infective juveniles of S. feliae could be stored at 10°C temperature up to 4 months without much loss of viability (98.56 and 98.01% viability up to 4 months in water and sponge, respectively) and pathogenicity. No significant differences in juvenile viability were recorded in storage at 10 and 25°C up to two months of storage. H. bacteriophora showed poor storability. All the infective juveniles were dead at 25°C after 4 months. At 10°C the juvenile viability was 34.63 and 44.17% in distilled water and sponge, respectively. However, the surviving population did not lose much of its infectivity.