• Korean journal of applied entomology
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.123-128
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• 1999

Recently, entomopathogenic nematodes have received a considerable attention as biologicalcontrol agents. For in vitro cultivation, storage and transportation of nematodes, oxygen supply isextremely impotant due to its limited solubility and mass transfer problem. The oxygen uptake rates(OURs) of four different Steinernema species were measured in a 5L bioreactor at varying temperatures.The OURs of the Steinernema spp. were below 0.5 x mmolO'||'&'||' . min in the range of 13-17$^{\circ}$C. TheOURs (mmo102/L - min) of S. glaseri Dongrae and S. carpocapsae Pocheon strains were 0.4 x lo-', 0.75x lo-\ulcorner at 21$^{\circ}$C, 1.5 x lo-\ulcorner, 3.2 x 10-2 at 25"C, and 2.8 x lo-', 5.8 x lo-\ulcorner at 29"C, respectively. However,the OURs were not significantly altered by the agitation speed of 50-150 rpm. The specific oxygenuptake rates (qol) of S. glaseri NC, S. glaseri Dongrae, S. glaseri Mungyeong and S. carpocapsaePocheon strains were 0.3 x 0.5 x 0.3 x and 0.2 x mmolO~/cell min at 25"C,respectively. As the nematode size and temperature were increased, the qo, was also increased.the qo, was also increased.