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Effect of Different Substrates and Casing Materials on the Growth and Yield of
Calocybe indica

Article  in  Mycobiology · June 2010

DOI: 10.4489/MYCO.2010.38.2.097 · Source: PubMed

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Mycobiology 38(2) : 97-101 (2010) DOI:10.4489/MYCO.2010.38.2.097
© The Korean Society of Mycology

Effect of Different Substrates and Casing Materials on the Growth and Yield of

Calocybe indica

Ruhul Amin , Abul Khair , Nuhu Alam and Tae Soo Lee *
1 1 1,2 2

Department of Botany, Jahangirnagar University, Savar, Dhaka 1342, Bangladesh

1

Department of Biology, University of Incheon, Incheon 406-840, Korea

2

(Received April 8, 2010. Accepted April 30, 2010)

Calocybe indica , a tropical edible mushroom, is popular because it has good nutritive value and it can be cultivated com-
mercially. The current investigation was undertaken to determine a suitable substrate and the appropriate thickness of casing
materials for the cultivation of . Optimum mycelial growth was observed in coconut coir substrate. Primordia ini-
C. indica

tiation with the different substrates and casing materials was observed between the 13th and 19th day. The maximum length
of stalk was recorded from sugarcane leaf, while diameter of stalk and pileus, and thickness of pileus were found in rice
straw substrate. The highest biological and economic yield, and biological efficiency were also obtained in the rice straw
substrate. Cow dung and loamy soil, farm-yard manure, loamy soil and sand, and spent oyster mushroom substrates were
used as casing materials to evaluate the yield and yield-contributing characteristics of . The results indicate that
C. indica

the number of effective fruiting bodies, the biological and economic yield, and the biological efficiency were statistically sim-
ilar all of the casing materials used. The maximum biological efficiency was found in the cow dung and loamy soil casing
material. The cow dung and loamy soil (3 cm thick) was the best casing material and the rice straw was the best substrate
for the commercial cultivation of .
C. indica

KEYWORDS : Biological efficiency, Calocybe indica, Casing material, Spawn, Substrate, Yield

Calocybe indica, commonly known as milky white mush- oyster mushrooms.

room, grows during the summer in the gangetic plain of The production and marketing potential of the milky
Bangladesh and West Bengal of India [1]. This mush- white mushroom in Bangladesh is promising. Because of
room is a relatively new introduction from India [2]. Its the high local demand for and export potential of this
robust size, sustainable yield, attractive color, delicacy, mushroom, many private entrepreneurs are interested in
long shelf-life, and lucrative market value have attracted its commercial cultivation. This mushroom requires a tem-
the attention of both mushroom consumers and prospec- perature of 30~35 C and a relative humidity of 70~80%
o

tive growers [3]. C. indica is rich in protein, lipids, fiber, for cultivation, which is conducive to the environmental
carbohydrates, and vitamins and contains an abundant conditions of Bangladesh [8]. Huge quantities of lignocel-
amount of essential amino acids [4]. lulosic residues such as rice straw, wheat straw, mustard
A substrate is an important substance for growing straw, maize straw, waste cotton, water hyacinth, sugar-
mushrooms. Usually, a wide range of diverse cellulosic cane bagasse, coconut coir, and kash are generated annu-
substrates are used for cultivating mushrooms. Volvariella ally through activities of the agricultural, forest, and food-
volvacea is grown on banana leaves, bracts of pineapple, processing industries in Bangladesh. About 30 million
coconut coir, coffee bran, coffee pulp, corn cob, corn sto- tons of rice straw is produced annually in Bangladesh [9],
ver, orange peel, rice bran, rice straw, sisal bagasse, sugar- which might prove suitable for mushroom cultivation.
cane bagasse, and wheat straw [5]. Various agricultural Therefore, the present investigation was undertaken to
byproducts are being used as substrates for the cultivation determine the best substrates and casing materials with
of oyster mushrooms, including banana leaves, peanut hull, appropriate thickness for the commercial cultivation of C.
corn leaves, mango fruits and seeds, sugarcane leaves, and indica.
wheat and rice straw [6]. In Asia, rice straw is widely
used as the substrate for cultivating oyster mushroom [7] Materials and Methods

and is also considered the best substrate for yield and high
protein content. Wheat straw is commonly used as a sub- Mushroom strain and substrates. C. indica was
strate in Europe and sawdust is commonly used as a sub- obtained from the National Mushroom Development and
strate in Southeast Asian countries for the cultivation of Extension Centre (NAMDEC), Savar, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Coconut coir (Cocos nucifera), kash (Saccharum spon-
*Corresponding author <E-mail : [email protected]> tanum), maize straw (Zea mays), rice straw (Oryza sativa),
97
98 Amin et al.

sugarcane bagasse, sugarcane leaf (Saccharum officinarum), can’s multiple range test. Biological efficiency was mea-
and waste cotton (Gossypium indicum) were used as sub- sured using the following formula:
strates in this study.
Biological efficiency (%)
Preparation of spawn. The substrates were chopped into = total biological yield/total substrate used × 100
3~4 inch lengths. On a dry-weight basis, 0.2% CaCO and 3

30% wheat bran were added to the chopped substrates Results and Discussion

and mixed thoroughly. Water was added to constitute a

moisture level of 65%. Substrate (500 g) was added to Effect of different substrates on yield and yield-con-
polypropylene bags (7 × 10'' sizes), and the openings of tributing characteristics. The optimum mycelial growth
the bags were plugged with cotton and secured with plas- in the spawn packet was observed in the coconut coir sub-
tic rings. The bags were autoclaved at 121 C at 15 psi for
o
strate (0.81 cm), which was statistically similar to that in
1 hr, after which they were inoculated with 2 teaspoons of the maize straw and sugarcane leaf substrates. The lowest
a mother culture of C. indica. The spawn packet was kept level of mycelial growth was found in the waste cotton
in a dark room for incubation at 30~32 C for approxi-
o
substrate (0.37 cm). The shortest time required to com-
mately 30 to 35 days. plete mycelial growth was observed in the sugarcane bagasse
substrate (27.75 days), followed by the maize straw (29.50
Casing materials and experimental conditions. Cow days) and sugarcane leaf (29.75 days) substrates. The
dung and loamy soil (3 : 1, v/v), farm-yard manure, loamy longest time (40.25 days) required to complete mycelial
soil and sand (3 : 1, v/v), and spent oyster mushroom sub- growth was observed in the waste cotton substrate (Table
strate (saw dust) were used as casing materials, which 1). These findings are similar to those of previous studies
were collected from the NAMDEC farm. All casing mate- using C. indica [10]. The presence of the right proportion
rials were sterilized at 65 C for 4 hr. After mycelial colo-
o
of α-cellulose, hemi-cellulose, pectin, and lignin was the
nization, the mouth of the spawn packet was covered with probable cause of the higher rate of mycelium in the
casing materials and maintained with five different (1 to 5 coconut coir substrate. A suitable ratio of carbon to nitro-
cm) levels of thickness. It was then transferred to the cul- gen might have been responsible for the higher mycelial
ture house and maintained at a temperature of 30~35 C o
growth. The capacity of mushrooms to grow on lingo-cel-
and a relative humidity of 70~80%. lulosic substrates is related to the vigor of their mycelium
[11]. The minimum time for primordia initiation was
Experimental design. The experiment had a completely observed in waste cotton substrate (13.0 days), which was
randomized design with four replications. The following statistically similar to that of the coconut coir, maize straw,
data were collected: mycelial growth in the spawn, the and rice straw substrates. The longest time was recorded
number of days required for the initiation of primordia, in sugarcane bagasse substrate (19.00 days). Patra and Pani
the number of days required for total harvest, length and [12] reported that the time required for primordia initia-
diameter of the stalk, the diameter and thickness of the tion of C. indica on paddy straw was 13~16 days. Simi-
pileus, the number of effective fruiting bodies, biological lar findings were also reported by Jiskani et al. [13].
yield, economic yield, and biological efficiency. The data Substrates containing glucose, fructose, and trehalose pro-
were analyzed according to standard methods using the duced the highest number of primordia, whereas abnor-
MSTAT-C program. Means were compared using Dun- mal fruiting bodies were produced in glycerol, xylose,

Table 1. Effect of different substrates on the mycelial growth, fruiting body formation, and yield of Calocybe indica
Mycelial growth Complete mycelial Primordia Biological Economic
No. of effective
Substrates in spawn growth in spawn initiation yield yield
fruiting body
(cm/day) (days) (days) (g/packet) (g/packet)
Coconut coir 0.81a 32.50b 13.50d 3.50d 346.0d 323.8d
Kash 0.67b 33.00b 17.75b 3.50d 315.8e 297.3e
Maize straw 0.72ab 29.50cd 13.75d 7.00ab 452.3b 427.3b
Rice straw 0.71b 32.00b 14.00d 7.75a 472.5a 448.5a
Sugarcane bagasse 0.69b 27.75d 19.00a 3.50d 259.3f 240.3f
Sugarcane leaf 0.72ab 29.75c 15.75c 4.75c 342.8d 324.0d
Waste cotton 0.37c 40.25a 13.00d 6.00b 401.3c 377.5c
CV (%) 9.30 03.86 05.21 13.75 001.72 001.49
In a column the same letters indicate that the values are not significantly different by Duncan’s multiple range test (P > 0.05). CV, coefficient
of variation.
 Effect of Different Substrates and Casing Materials of Calocybe indica 99

Fig. 2. Effect of different substrates on the biological efficiency

Fig. 1. The fruiting body of Calocybe indica produced in of Calocybe indica. The vertical bars represent the
different substrates. standard error. S-1, coconut coir; S-2, kash; S-3, maize
straw; S-4, rice straw; S-5, sugarcane bagasse; S-6,
sugarcane leaf; S-7, waste cotton.
sucrose, and fructose. The optimal fruiting body produc-
tion occurred on glucose and fructose containing sub-
strates [14]. Fruiting bodies of C. indica were formed in
six different substrates (Fig. 1). The maximum biological
and economic yield was obtained from rice straw substrate
(472.5 and 448.5 g). The lowest biological and economic
yields (259.3 and 240.3 g) were obtained from sugarcane
bagasse (Table 1). Of all the substrates tested, the total
length of harvesting time varied from 65.75 to 91.75 days.
The longest time for harvesting was observed in rice
straw substrate (Table 2). The maximum diameter of stalk
and pileus and thickness of pileus were also obtained from
rice straw. Statistically similar stalk lengths were found in
all of the substrates. The minimum diameter (4.98 cm) Fig. 3. Effect of different casing materials on the biological
and thickness (1.40 cm) of pileus was observed in sugar- efficiency of Calocybe indica. The vertical bars
cane bagasse (Table 2). Biological efficiency varied sig- represent the standard error. Cm-1, cow dung and soil;
nificantly between the substrates. The highest (91.75%) Cm-2, farm-yard manure; Cm-3, soil and sand; Cm-4,
spent mushroom substrate.
and lowest (51.86%) biological efficiencies were observed
in the rice straw and sugarcane bagasse substrates, respec-
tively (Fig. 2). The findings of the present study are com- Effect of different casing materials and thicknesses on
parable with those of previous studies using C. indica [15, yield and yield-contributing characteristics. Cow dung
16]. Rice straw was the best substrate, followed by wheat and loamy soil, farm-yard manure, loamy soil and sand,
straw. Therefore, cellulose-rich organic substrates are suit- and spent oyster mushroom substrate were used as casing
able for cultivating mushrooms [17, 18]. materials to evaluate the yield and yield-contributing char-

Table 2. Effect of different substrates on the yield-contributing characteristics of Calocybe indica

Total days of Length of Diameter of Diameter of Thickness of
Substrates
harvest stalk (cm) stalk (cm) pileus (cm) pileus (cm)
Coconut coir 89.75ab 07.90a 2.40bcd 5.66bc 1.70de
Kash 76.25e 08.38a 1.71f 6.11ab 1.68de
Maize straw 86.00bc 08.60a 2.68ab 6.09ab 2.08abc
Rice straw 91.75a 09.03a 2.83a 6.53a 2.10abc
Sugarcane bagasse 65.75f 08.77a 1.73f 4.98d 1.40e
Sugarcane leaf 80.25de 09.26a 2.43bcd 5.14cd 1.88bcd
Waste cotton 83.25cd 06.52b 2.45bc 6.28ab 1.68de
CV (%) 03.87 10.89 9.27 7.32 8.26
In a column the same letters indicate that the values are not significantly different by Duncan’s multiple range test (P > 0.05). CV, coefficient
of variation.
100 Amin et al.

Table 3. Effect of different casing materials on fruiting body formation and the yield of Calocybe indica
Primordia Total days No. of effective Biological yield Economic yield
Casing materials
initiation (days) of harvest fruiting body (g/packet) (g/packet)
Cow dung and soil 15.25b 67.92bc 05.33a 314.7a 311.5a
Farm yard manure 14.17c 68.83b 04.92b 313.2a 310.6a
Soil and sand 15.17b 71.75a 06.08a 307.3a 305.3a
Spent mushroom substrate 17.67a 66.00c 05.75a 308.3a 305.8a
CV (%) 6.17 03.98 10.12 002.12 002.14
In a column the same letters indicate that the values are not significantly different by Duncan’s multiple range test (P > 0.05). CV, coefficient
of variation.

Table 4. Effect of different casing materials on the yield-contributing characteristics of Calocybe indica
Casing materials Length of stalk (cm) Diameter of stalk (cm) Diameter of pileus (cm) Thickness of pileus (cm)
Cow dung and soil 7.55b 2.73c 7.20b 02.01aa
Farm yard manure 8.44a 2.97b 7.55a 02.01aa
Soil and sand 6.57c 2.33d 6.75c 01.83ba
Spent mushroom substrate 8.85a 3.18a 6.13d 01.91ab
CV (%) 6.63a 9.12a 7.75a 10.11aa
In a column the same letters indicate that the values are not significantly different by Duncan’s multiple range test (P > 0.05). CV, coefficient
of variation.

Table 5. Effect of different thicknesses of casing materials on the fruiting body formation and yield of Calocybe indica
Thickness of casing Primordia Total days No. of effective Biological yield Economic yield
material (cm) initiation (days) of harvest fruiting body (g/packet) (g/packet)
1 17.25c 44.00c 01.50c 123.5e 121.5e
2 18.00c 53.25b 05.75b 330.3d 327.0d
3 20.25b 62.00a 07.50a 375.5c 373.5c
4 21.75ab 60.25ab 07.50a 411.5b 408.8b
5 23.25a 64.75a 07.75a 433.8a 431.5a
CV (%) 07.38 08.60 15.21 002.66 002.71
In a column the same letters indicate that the values are not significantly different by Duncan’s multiple range test (P > 0.05). CV, coefficient
of variation.

Table 6. Effect of different thicknesses of casing materials on the yield-contributing characteristics of Calocybe indica
Thickness of casing Length of stalk Diameter of stalk Diameter of pileus Thickness of pileus
material (cm) (cm) (cm) (cm) (cm)
1 02.68c 2.39c 5.05db 01.33bb
2 07.75b 2.70b 5.55cd 01.57ab
3 09.51a 2.72b 6.08bc 01.65ab
4 09.28a 2.83b 6.58bb 01.71ab
5 09.42a 3.05a 7.75ab 01.82ab
CV (%) 12.71b 5.34b 7.29bb 11.76bb
In a column the same letters indicate that the values are not significantly different by Duncan’s multiple range test (P > 0.05). CV, coefficient
of variation.

acteristics of C. indica. The results indicate that the num- (Table 3). The greatest stalk length and diameter were
ber of effective fruiting bodies, the biological and economic observed with the spent mushroom substrate casing mate-
yields, and biological efficiency were statistically similar rial. The maximum diameter and thickness of pileus were
in all of the casing materials tested. Maximum biological found with the farm-yard manure (Table 4). These find-
efficiency was recorded in cow dung and soil (62.94%) ings are comparable with data from a study using Agari-
followed by the farm-yard manure (62.64%), spent mush- cus bisporus, because it grows well in composting casing
room substrate (61.66%), and soil and sand (61.46%) cas- materials [19]. The effects of five different thicknesses of
ing materials (Fig. 3). Primordia initiation occurred earlier cow dung and loamy soil as casing materials on the yield
in farm-yard manure than in the other casing materials and yield-contributing characteristics of C. indica are pre-
 Effect of Different Substrates and Casing Materials of Calocybe indica 101

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