# The Effect of Exposure to an Electromagnetic Field on Entomopathogenic Fungi
## 3 Results  
Analyses of the colony growth of EPFs after seven days' exposure revealed that the tested strains of entomopathogenic fungi were sensitive to exposure to 900 and 1800 MHz electromagnetic fields (Table 1). The diameter of the _B. bassiana_ mycelium not treated with the EMF was 2.2 cm. In the object exposed to the 900 and 1800 MHz EMFs, the colony diameters were 3.1 cm and 1.9 cm, respectively (Figure 1). The diameter of the _C. fumosroseus_ mycelial colony treated with the higher-frequency EMF was 4.0 cm, while the diameter of the control object and that treated with a lower frequency were 2.9 and 2.8 cm, respectively (Figure 2). The diameter of the mycelial colony of _M. anisopliae_ in the control group and that under exposure to a lower-frequency EMF did not significantly differ. However, the diameter of the _M. anisopliae_ colony exposed to the lower EMF frequency was significantly larger than in the one exposed to the 1800 MHz electromagnetic field (Figure 3). Exposure to the 900 MHz frequency electromagnetic field had a stimulating effect on the colony growth of all of the tested EPFs (Table 2). The colony growth of EPFs after 14 days (seven days after the termination of exposure to the EMF) differs significantly depending on the applied frequency of the electromagnetic field (Table 3) and the fungus species. A significant stimulating effect was observed when fungi were exposed to a 900 MHz electromagnetic field (Table 4). The linear growth of _C. fumosorosea_ and _M. anisopliae_ in the control group and in objects exposed to 1800 MHz did not differ significantly. However, when comparing the mean value for all tested EPFs, those exposed to 1800 MHz showed significantly inhibited colony growth after 14 days. Exposure to a 900 MHz electromagnetic field had a stimulating effect on the growth rate of \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c} \hline \hline  & \multicolumn{3}{c}{**Fungi Species**} \\ \cline{2-4}
**Treatment** & \multicolumn{3}{c}{**Colony Diameter [cm] \(\pm\) SD**} \\ \cline{2-4}  & _B. bassiana_ & _C. fumosorosea_ & _M. anisopliae_ \\ \hline Control & 2.20 abc \(\pm\) 0.268 & 2.87 cd \(\pm\) 0.160 & 2.15 abc \(\pm\) 0.065 \\ \hline
900 MHz & 3.12 d \(\pm\) 0.210 & 4.02 e \(\pm\) 0.025 & 2.87 cd \(\pm\) 0.240 \\ \hline
1800 MHz & 1.91 a \(\pm\) 0.074 & 2.77 bcd \(\pm\) 0.062 & 2.07 ab \(\pm\) 0.070 \\ \hline \end{tabular} Values within particular columns and rows marked with the same letter do not differ significantly (\(p\leq\) 0.05). SD—standard deviation.  
\end{table} 
Table 1: The effect of exposure to 900 and 1800 MHz EMFs on the colony growth (after seven days) of the entomopathogenic fungi _B. bassiana_, _C. fumosorosea_, and _M. anisopliae_. Figure 1: The effect of exposure to 900 and 1800 MHz EMFs on the colony growth (after seven days, reverse side) of the entomopathogenic fungi _B. bassiana_. (**(a)**—control; **(b)**—900 MHz; **(c)**—1800 MHz; bar = 1 cm). Figure 2: The effect of exposure to 900 and 1800 MHz EMFs on the colony growth (after seven days, reverse side) of the entomopathogenic fungi _C. fumosorosea_. (**(a)**—control; **(b)**—900 MHz; (c)**—1800 MHz; bar = 1 cm). all of the tested EPFs (Figure 4). However, the 1800 MHz EMF was not observed to have a significant effect on the growth rate of the EPFs. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c} \hline \hline \multirow{2}{*}{**Treatment**} & \multicolumn{3}{c}{**Fungi Species**} \\ \cline{2-4}  & \multicolumn{2}{c}{**Inhibition/Stimulation Coefficient [\%] \(\pm\) SD**} \\ \cline{2-4}  & _B. bassiana_ & _C. fumosorosea_ & _M. anisopliae_ \\ \hline
900 MHz & \(-12.8\) a \(\pm\) 1.32 & 11.7 a \(\pm\) 0.97 & \(-12.9\) a \(\pm\) 0.96 \\ \hline
1800 MHz & \(6.2\) b \(\pm\) 1.48 & 2.7 b \(\pm\) 1.64 & 2.0 b \(\pm\) 0.55 \\ \hline \end{tabular} Values within particular columns marked with the same letter do not differ significantly (\(p\leq 0.05\)). SD—standard deviation.  
\end{table}