*4.6. Preparation of Fungal Suspension*

The fungal suspension was prepared as follows: five discs (5 mm diameter) of mycelia agar plugs (7 days old) were added to 1 kg of sterilized maize grains, sand (2:1 *v*/*v*). Ten mL of sterile water was added to the last mixture ina2L flask and incubated at 25 ± 2 ◦C for two weeks. After that, the mixture was put into plastic pots (20 cm diameter). Five sterile discs of PDA medium were inoculated into a control flask [75].
