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PERFORMANCE OF MUSHROOM (Pleurotus abalonus) AS AFFECTED
BY MAIZE ADDITIVE
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BY
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BABATUNDE, F.E., 2OLAWUYI O.J 3UDOM, G,N., 4OMOAYENA, B.O. AND
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EKPEBU, N.C.
. Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture. Osun State University, Osogbo. P.M.B.
4014. Ejigbo Campus. Email: fikayoeb@gmail.com or fikayoeb@yahoo.ca
. Dept of Biosciences and Biotechnology, Babcock University, Ilisan-Remo, P.M.B21244,
Ikeja. Lagos. Nigeria. Email: olawuyiodunayo@yahoo.com or wumod2002@yahoo.com
. Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture. University of Uyo. Akwa Ibom State.
Nigeria. Email: gnudom1@yahoo.com
. Provost Office, Federal College of Forestry Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria. Email:
bomoayena@yahoo.com
. Crop Production Programme, School of Agriculture. Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University,
Bauchi. Bauchi State. Nigeria. Email: ekpebunc@yahoo.com
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ABSTRACT
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The effect of maize additive on the performance of mushroom (Pleurotus abalonus)
was experimented at Port-Harcourt, Rivers State of Nigeria in 2007 and 2008. The
experiment was carried out in Zitte’s farm located at mile 2 area of Port-Harcourt at a
temperature range of 28 - 30oC and under an average humidity of 90%. Materials used for
the experiment include; spawn of Pleurotus abalonus mushroom with sawdust, wheat bran
and lime in the ratio of 20kg: 3kg: 0.7kg respectively. The materials were mixed properly
with an even amount of water after which powdered maize as an additive was added at four
levels of concentration viz; 1%, 2%, 3% and 4% while 0% was used as the control. The
experiment was made up of five treatments with four replications. The result of this
investigation revealed a significant (p = 0.01) increase in growth, yield, firmness, stipe size
and pileus size with the application of 3% of maize additive given the optimum level of
application in the substrate. No significant result was observed in terms of colour, fresh
quality and keeping ability of mushroom under ambient temperature. Therefore, it can be
recommended that mushroom growers should apply 3% level of maize additive in substrate
during cultivation in order to obtain the best result.
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Keywords:. Zea maize, Mushroom, Productivity, additive and Edible Fungi.
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INTRODUCTION
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Mushrooms have been known for centuries as special delicacies in human diets all
over the world. Their importance in medicine is now highly recognized. They are known to
be rich in proteins, sugars, lipids, amino acids, glycogen, vitamins and mineral elements
(Isikhuemhen, 1999). They also have potential medicinal benefits (Chang and miles, 1989;
San, 1996 and Lin, 1995). Commonly, they are gathered in the wild in many cultures but
because of demand, they are now commercially cultivated by man. Mushrooms are
propagated by spawn inoculated into the substrate. Harvesting commences three to five days
after mushroom appearance (Chang and Li, 1982).
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Pleurotus abalonus is a well known edible mushroom usually cultivated by farmers. It
has a well defined stipe which is whitish and about 5 – 9cm long. It also has a pileus of about
1.5 – 5cm in diameter, whitish and conical or belt shaped which contains gills under it where
white spores are produced. It is cultivated on coffee pulp, corn cob, sawdust et.c. (Royse and
Schisler, 1986).
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For convenience sake, sawdust has been commonly used. Supplements such as wheat
bran, rice bran and cotton seed meals among others have been used as nitrogen sources in the
substrate. For the sake of this study, only wheat bran is considered with maize additive in
graded levels, which serve as a nitrogen source in the substrate. Fasidi and Kadiri (1993)
reported that supplementation of substrate with different levels of carbonate based additive
has been shown to enhance mushroom production.
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Productivity has been hampered by poorly furnished substrate, hence the need for an
enriched substrate to increase efficiency in mushroom production is of great importance.
Mushroom from different substrate give different results while inclusion of maize additive to
the substrate can increase the nutritional value of the substrate and enhance productivity.
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In mushroom cultivation however, the reason for insignificant results in the used of
maize additive, is tied to the fact that it has been used without recognizing percentage levels
hence, the optimum level of maize additive to mushroom substrate has not been defined. This
ugly trend in the use of maize additive call for intensive research and appraisal of maize that
is cheaply available on the farm.
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Sequel to these, this study has been structured to delve into significance and optimum
levels of maize additive in the substrate as well as its consequencial effects on the yield of
mushroom.
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MATERIALS AND METHODS
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The experiment was conducted at Zitte’s farm located at mile 2 area in Port-Harcourt
under an average humidity of 90% and at a temperature range of 28 – 30oC.
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Experimental Procedure
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Mushroom substrate was prepared by using sawdust, wheat bran and lime in the ratio
of 20kg: 3kg: 0.7kg respectively and mixed with some amount of water sufficient to moisten
the substrate (Chang and Haye, 1991). The simple squeeze test was conducted to make sure
the water content was in order.
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Maize additive (local maize) was reduced to the powdered form and added to the
substrate at 4 levels (1%, 2%, 3% and 4%) while 0% was used as the control. After proper
mixing, they were loaded into heat resistant polythene bags measuring 18cm x 30cm. Small
rubber pipes were passed through the top of the bags, after which the mouth of the bags were
plugged with cotton wool. Four replicate bags were prepared for each level. The bags were
then heat treated to a temperature of 100oC for 3 hours. The bags were then allowed to cool in
an air conditioned room to a temperature of 30oC. Spawn of Pleurotus abalones (white in
colour) in a bottle was collected from zitte’s farm and was used to inoculate the substrate
with 5% of spawn for each bag.
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Spawn growth and Fruiting stage
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Spawned or inoculated bags (each weighing 1.5kg of substrate) were transferred to a
dark well ventilated room. At this stage, the mycelium was seen colonizing or growing down
the substrate and spreading to every part of the substrate. After complete colonization, the
entire substate bags appeared whitish in colour.
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Completely colonized bags were opened for fruiting and this was followed by
periodic watering of bags every other day with 750ml of water per day on each bag to avoid
dryness.
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Fruiting began 21 days after inoculation. Subsequently, harvesting of mushrooms
commenced five days after fruiting. Mushroom yield in kg / 1.5kg substrate was taken for all
the replications of each treatment and the average values were recorded. Mushroom
appearance was counted in days for all the replications of each treatment and the average
values were recorded.
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The stipe sizes of mushrooms were measured with a measuring rule and the average
values were recorded. The diameter or pileus sizes of mushrooms were also measured with a
measuring rule and the average values for each treatment were recorded accordingly. The
fresh quality and colour of mushroom were determined by physical appearance. The keeping
ability was counted in days. The firmness was determined by using the rating scale adopted
by Kader et al (1978) as presented in Table 1.
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Data Analysis
Data such as stipe size, pileus size, firmness ratings, mushroom appearance and yield
of mushroom were subjected to one way analysis of variance. This was based on the principle
of arrangement under the complete randomized design with the use of MINITAB version11
computer software.
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RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
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Growth and Yield Components
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The effects of maize additive on the growth and yield of mushroom are presented in
Table 2. A significant (p > 0.01) difference was observed in number of days of mushroom
appearance between 0% and 4% levels of maize additive. The fastest growth (21 days) was
observed with substrate having 3% level of maize additive and the slowest growth (31 days)
with that of 4% level of maize additive. Result showed a significant increase in spawn growth
and yield with increase in levels of maize additive in the substrate. Spawn growth was faster
in substrate with higher levels of maize additive, except that with 4% level of the additive.
This decrease in performance observed in substrate with 4% level of maize additive might be
due to the presence of ammonia in the substrate. This observation agrees with Song (2007),
who reported that ammonia levels of o.1% in a substrate could restrict spawn growth and
reduce subsequent yield. However, the faster growth observed in substrate with higher levels
of maize additive disagree with the findings of Pottembaum (1997), who reported that spawn
growth is more rapid in less nutritional substrates. The result also disagrees with the findings
of Beyer and Wilkinson (2007), who reported that substrate with higher nitrogen content, has
a slower growth. The results however, conforms with the findings of Quinmio et al. (1990)
who reported that nitrogen content has no correlation with spawn growth, since rapid growth
has been observed in both high and low nitrogen compost.
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The higher yield obtained with increase in levels of maize additive in the substrate
justifies the findings of Quinmio et al, (1990) who reported that the greater the nitrogen
content with no ammonia, the better the yield. The result showed that optimum yield could be
obtained with maize additive level of 3% in the substrate. The result agrees with Zadrazil
(1993), who reported that supplementation or inclusion of additive during mushroom
cultivation is to enhance yield.
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Vegetative Component
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There was a significant (p > 0.01) difference in stipe size, pileus size and mushroom
firmness (Table 3). The result showed a significant increase with increase in levels of maize
additive up to 3% levels of additive application in the substrate. The highest of stipe size
(8.25cm), pileus size (4.8cm) and the best mushroom firmness (9.5) were obtained from
substrate with 3% levels of maize additive. These were followed by those with 2% levels and
the trend continues down to 0% level of maize additive in the substrate, while the least were
obtained with 4% levels of maize additive.
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The result agrees with the observations of Fasidi and Kadiri (1993), who reported that
supplementation of substrate with different levels of carbonates and nitrogen-based additives
has been shown to enhance mushroom production.
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Fresh Quality, Colour and Keeping ability of Mushroom
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Table 4 presents the effect of maize additive on the fresh quality of mushrooms.
Mushroom from all treatments showed no evidence with dark brown spot, no mushroom with
watery stipe and no fist shaped mushroom was observed. In same vein, none of the treatment
gave a produced premature mushroom and no marks were sustained on the mushrooms.
Results of colour and keeping ability of mushroom are presented in Table 5. Mushrooms
obtained from all the treatments were same in colour and had the same shelf life.
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There were no significant differences observed among the treatments with regard to
fresh quality, colour and keeping ability of mushroom. The result agrees with the findings of
Fasidi and Kadiri (1993), who reported that supplementation of substrate with different levels
of carbonates and nitrogen-based additives, has been shown to enhance mushroom
production.
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CONCLUSION
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The results of this study indicated clearly that supplementation of substrate with
different levels of maize additive actually enhance mushroom productivity. 3% levels of the
additive was observed as the optimum level as evidenced by its outstanding performance with
regards to number of days before mushroom appearance, yield, stipe size, pileus size and
firmness of mushroom.
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Prior to this study, maize additive was used in the substrate without recognizing
percentage levels. However, the significance of this result regarding percentage levels of
maize additive can be said to be of immense contribution to mushroom production by local
farmers. The yield and quality of mushroom can be enhanced with the application of the
optimum level of maize additive, which are abundantly available in Nigeria. This is a
preliminary investigation in which further work is recommended on using maize additive in
different substrate with a view to obtaining further information on its efficiency in mushroom
cultivation.
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REFERENCES
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Beyer and Wilkinson (2007). “Cultivation of shiitake on supplemented sawdust”. Shiitake
News, 3: 1 – 4.
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Chang, S.T. and Haye, T.Y (1991). The Biology and cultivation of edible mushrooms.
Chinese University Press, Hong Kong. p 160.
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Chang,S.T. and Li, S.F. ( 1982). In Advances in Agricultural Microbiology,(ed. Subba Rao,
N.S.). Oxford and IBH Publ. Co., New Delhi. P677-691.
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Chang, S.T. and Miles, P.G. (1989). Edible mushrooms and their cultivation, ERC Press,
Bocaraton. p 300.
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Fasidi, I.O. and Kadiri, M. (1993). Effects of Sporophore maturity on chemical composition
of Volvariella esculenta. Die nahrung. 37: 269 – 273.
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Isikhuemhen, O.S., Okhuoya, J.A., Ogbo, E.M. and Akpaja, E.O. (1999). “Effect of
substrates supplementation with nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium (NPK) fertilizer
on sporophore yield in Pleurotus tuberregium”. Micol Neutropolitant Application,
12: 9 – 21.
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Kader , A.A, Morris, L.L and Chen, P. ( 1978). Evaluation of two objective methods and a
subjective rating scale for measuring tomato fruit firmness. Journal of American Soc.
Hort. Sci. 103:70-73.
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Lin, Z. (1995). “Advances in the pharmacology of Tremella polysaccharides”. In : Chang,
S.T., Buswell, J.A. and Sin-wai (eds.). Mushroom Biology and Mushroom Products.
Chinese University Press, Hong Kong. p 370.
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Pottembaum, D.A. (1997). Mushroom cultivation in Thailand. N.W. A publication of
Washington, D.C. 2051: Peace Corps, information collection and exchange office of
training and program support, 806 connectious avenue, p 85.
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Quinmio, T.H., Chang, S.T. and Royse, D.J. (1990). “ Technical guide for mushroom
growing in the tropics”. Plant production and protection paper 106. Rome: FAD, p
155.
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San, (1996). “Effective dosage of extract of Garnoderma lucidum in treatment of various
ailments”. In : Royse, D.J. (ed.). Mushroom Biology and Mushroom products. Penn
State University Press, Philadelphia. p 177 – 183.
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Song, C.F. (2007). Substrate and spawn growth management in mushroom cultivation.
Tenspeed Press, California. p 150.
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Zadrazil, H. (1993). “Conversion of lignocelluloses into animal feed with white rot fungi”.
In: Chang, S.T., Bruswell, J.A. and Sin-wai, C. (eds.). Mushroom Biology and
Mushroom Products. Chinese University Press, Hong Kong. p 298.
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DEFINITION OF TERMS
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Mushroom:
The fruiting body of a fungus.
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Mycelium:
The network of hyphae that forms the vegetative body of the fungus.
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Gills:
The tissue under the cap that produces the spores.
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Pileus:
The mushroom cap’
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Stipe:
The stalk of the mushroom.
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Spawn:
The pure culture of the mycelium on grain to inoculate the substrate
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(mushroom seed).
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Culture:
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Pure culture: An isolated culture of a micro organism without any other micro organism.
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Spores:
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Used to describe the way the pure strains are kept.
Are formed under the cap of the mushroom and serve as the means of
reproducing the fungi.
Substrate:
The material on which the mycelium grows.
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Table 1: Rating scale for mushroom firmness (Kader et al., 1978).
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SCORES
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10
Excellent
Fruit yield slightly to considerable pressure
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8
Very good
Fruit yield readily to considerable pressure
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6
Good
Fruit yield slightly to considerable pressure
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4
Fair
Fruit yield readily to moderate pressure
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2
Poor
Fruit yield slightly to slight pressure
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0
Very poor
Fruit yield readily to slight pressure
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CLASS
RESISTANCE TO COMPRESION BY FINGER
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Table 2: Effects of maize additive on the growth and yield of mushroom.
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Substrate levels (%) Mushroom Appearance (Days)
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0 (Control)
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1.7
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1
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1.9
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2
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2.1
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3
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2.3
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4
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0.7
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LSD (p > 0.01)
2.97
0.33
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Yield (kg / 1.5kg Substrate
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Table 3: Effects of maize additive on sizes of stipe, pileus and firmness of mushroom.
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Substrate levels (%) Stipe size (cm)
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0 (Control)
6.75
2.6
7.5
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1
7.00
2.9
8.0
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2
7.75
4.4
9.0
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3
8.25
4.8
9.5
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4
5.25
2.2
2.5
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LSD (p > 0.01)
0.87
1.02
1.79
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Pileus size (cm)
Firmness
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Table 4: Effects of maize additive on fresh qualities of mushroom.
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Substrate levels (%) DBM
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0 (Control)
None
None
None
None
None
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1
None
None
None
None
None
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2
None
None
None
None
None
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3
None
None
None
None
None
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4
None
None
None
None
None
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WS
FSM
PM
SM
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Table 5: Effects of maize additive on keeping ability (under ambient temperature) and colour
of mushroom.
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Substrate levels (%)
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0 (Control)
Maximum of 2 Days
White
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1
Maximum of 2 Days
White
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2
Maximum of 2 Days
White
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3
Maximum of 2 Days
White
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4
Maximum of 2 Days
White
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Keeping Ability
Colour