ABSTRACT
The aim of this study was to evaluate the predatory activity of the fungus Duddingtonia flagrans against infective larvae (L3 ) of gastrointestinal nematodes of horses in the pasture and dung patch during a period of 21 days. The experimental design was completely randomized, with three groups treated (G1, G2 and G3) and a control (C), with eight animals/group. The treated animals received G1: 1.5x105; G2: 3x105 and G3: 6x105 chlamydospores of D. flagrans/kg body weight during 21 days. The experiment ran in the environment using 36 areas of 1 m2 delimited on pasture, where stool samples were distributed for each group, in triplicates. Feces were collected from the animals at days 0 (D0), 15 (D15) and 30 (D30) and deposited on the pasture areas. After 14 and 21 days of each deposition step , the number of L 3 present in dung and pasture was evaluated. The number of L3 in the dung was accompanied by increase of the same variable in the pasture. The evaluation recorded in a short period may be insufficient to evaluate fungus development.
Keywords:
Duddingtonia flagrans; nematophagous fungi; Equus caballus; nematodes
