Research Note

Research Journal of Agricultural Sciences 2011, 2(1): 153-155

Influence of Colour of Polythene Container and Incandescent Light on Production of White Summer Mushroom (Calocybe indica)
B K Pani Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology, Bhubaneswar- 751 003, Orissa, India.
e-mail: dr.bkp1965@indiatimes.com

Department of Plant Pathology,

ABSTRACT
Experiments were conducted to study the effect of colour of polythene containers and incandescent lights on the sporophore production of Calocybe indica. It was revealed that transparent polybags were better vis--vis red, blue, green, yellow, black and orange ones, the difference in yield being statistically at par. These helped for a better vision of the inside mycelia growth. The substrates exposed to normal indirect sunlight (without any exposure to artificial/ incandescent light) sustained significantly higher biological efficiency. The coloured incandescent light and darkness also had a negative impact on mushroom productivity. Black polybags as well as darkness induced delayed fruiting and reduced mushroom size. Higher pileus diameter with comparatively shortened stipe length, considered a desired trait, was recorded in response to blue polybags as well as blue incandescent light. It is concluded that the white summer mushroom should be cultivated in transparent polythene bags under available indoor light to achieve higher productivity. Key words: Calocybe indica, Colour, Light, Polythene, Yield White summer mushroom/ milky mushroom (Calocybe indica) is a tropical edible fungus known for its robust, fleshy and milky white sporophores. First reported from India (Purakayastha and Chandra 1974), it was cultivated for the first time on a mixture of soil, sand and maize meal (12:6:1) in soil jars and improved production technology has been evolved later on with 40-70% biological efficiency. The fungus generally grows on the humus rich soil under road side trees and in agricultural fields. In rainy season, wild forms of C. indica are sold in Calcutta (India) and their edibility was confirmed (Purkayastha and Chandra 1974, Purakayastha and Chandra 1976). Natural occurrence of the mushroom in other parts of India such as the plains of Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan has also been reported (Krishnamoorthy 1995). It is being cultivated under indoor conditions on a pilot scale at experimental stations but its commercialization is gradually picking up in the county. Generally polythene bags of various colours are used under different light conditions leading to varied productivity. Though many mushrooms are known to require light to trigger morphogenesis, literature is almost lacking on its effect on C. indica excepting very few (Dutta and Chakravorty 2000, Theradimani et al. 2001). Therefore, the present study was undertaken to study the influence of colour of polythene containers and incandescent light on the growth and development of this edible fungus. spawning on chopped paddy straw was followed as per standard procedure (Pani and Das 1998). To determine the influence of colour on sporophore production, the spawned polythene bags (polybags) of transparent, red, blue, green yellow, black and orange colours were used as containers for mushroom cultivation. The objective was to allow day light available indoor to pass through these polybags and fall on the growing mycelia. In another experiment, the transparent polybags containing spawned substrates were exposed to different light sources viz. white, red, blue, green, yellow and orange incandescent lights (200 watt) as well as darkness for six hours daily until the initiation of sporophores after which they were transferred to available day light in the cropping room. Polybags without any exposure to artificial light and incubated in sufficient indoor light condition served as control. A temperature of 25-37C and relative humidity of 85-90% along with controlled ventilation were maintained in the cropping room throughout the period of cultivation. In general, the spawned substrates were incubated under natural day light available in the growing room unless otherwise required. Three replications were maintained for each treatment. Mushrooms were harvested 7-8 days after primordial initiation from a total of two flushes. Fresh weights were immediately recorded along with other observations. Biological efficiency (BE) of the fungus was computed as a ratio between fresh weights of harvested sporophores to the dry weight of substrate in each bag and was expressed as a per cent. Data pertaining to yield were analyzed statistically.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Mushroom cultivation in high density polythene bags (60cm 40cm, 200 gauge) with multi-layered

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B K Pani

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Though there was no significant difference in yields obtained in response to colour of the polythene bags (Table 1), the transparent polybags (68.4% BE) performed marginally better compared to other treatments (63.0-66.9% BE). In general, the fungus took 15 to 16 days for substrate colonization (SC) and 30 to 32 days for fruiting initiation (FI) while 4-6 matured

sporophores (Sp.) were harvested from each bag. Variations were, however, found among the treatments pertaining to pileus diameter and stipe length. Contrary to other treatments, blue coloured polythene bags produced mushrooms with larger pileus diameter with reduced stipe length. The black coloured polythene bags sustained comparatively lower yield (630.0g) and least number of sporophores (4) with relatively longer stipe.

Table 1 Effect of colour of polythene bag on the production of C. indica Colour SC (days) Transparent Red Blue Green Yellow Black Orange 15 15 15 16 15 16 15 FI (days) 30 31 31 30 31 32 31 Sp. No. 6 5 5 5 5 4 5 Pileus dia. (cm) 14.0 10. 14.7 10.8 9.9 8.5 9.4 Stipe length (cm) 15.1 14.2 13.4 12.8 12.1 11.6 12.6 Yield (g) 684.6 660.0 671.3 663.6 669.3 630.0 668.6 Avg. Sp. Wt. (g) 114.1 132.0 134.2 132.7 133.8 157.5 133.7 BE (%) 68.4 66.0 67.1 66.3 66.9 63.0 66.8

CD (0.05) = 57.98, SC Substrate Colonization FI Fruiting Initiation Sp. Sporophore

Table 2 Effect of colour of incandescent light on the production of C. indica Colour SC (days) White Red Blue Green Yellow Darkness Orange Control 16 15 15 16 15 16 15 15 FI (days) 31 36 35 35 34 39 33 30 Sp. No. 5 3 5 4 3 2 4 6 Pileus dia. (cm) 13.4 12.1 14..5 12.6 10.5 5.2 98 14.2 Stipe length (cm) 16.1 14.8 14.3 15.4 12.6 14.1 12.1 16.2 Yield (g) 498.0 397.3 476.0 456.0 412.0 275.3 399.3 718.0 Avg. Sp. Wt. (g) 99.6 132.4 95.2 114.0 137.3 137.6 99.8 119.6 BE (%) 49.8 39.7 47.6 45.6 41.2 27.5 39.9 71.8

CD (0.05) = 81.94, SC Substrate Colonization FI Fruiting Initiation Sp. Sporophore

It was further noted that there was a negative impact of the artificial incandescent lights on the productivity of mushroom (Table 2). The substrate without any exposure to artificial light (control) sustained significantly higher yield (718.0g, 71.8% BE)), induced quicker primordial emergence (30 days) and higher number (6) of mature fruiting bodies. The fungus took 15 to 16 days for substrate colonization. Substrates exposed to white, red, blue, green, yellow and orange lights supported yields of 498.0g, 397.3g, 476.0g, 456.0g, 412.0g and 399.3g, respectively. It was observed that blue light induced greater pileus diameter

with comparatively reduced stipe length. Though darkness did not affect the vegetative growth of the fungus, the fructification was very much delayed (39 days) and there were least number of sporophore (2) and minimum yield (275.3g). It also produced the smallest pileus (5.2cm diameter) and relatively much longer stipe (14.1cm). It is concluded from the investigation that the white summer mushroom should be cultivated in transparent polythene bags under indoor light conditions for achieving higher productivity. However, Theradimani et al. (2001) reported that growth chamber with blue

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Production of White Summer Mushroom coloured high density polythene roofing and with blue incandescent light (6 hour exposure) significantly increased the sporophore yield of milky mushroom. Their report corroborates the present observation as far as pileus size and stipe length in response to blue colour was concerned. This assumes significance in C. indica where the stipe length was more compared to pileus diameter resulting in the formation of mushrooms with varying sizes. Further research is necessary so as to get not only higher productivity but also higher pileus : stipe ratio in response to blue colour. Dutta and Chakravorthy (2000) reported that darkness favoured the spawn run but for primordial formation and their further development low intensity of light was required.

LITERATURE CITED
Dutta S, Chakravorthy D K. 2000. Comparative effect of light on spawn run and fructification of different cultivated mushrooms. Environment and Ecology 18(4): 966-968. Krishnamoorthy A S. 1995. Studies on the cultivation of milky mushroom ( C. indica). Ph.D. Thesis, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, India. Pani B K and Das S R. 1998. Seasonal productivity of summer white mushroom ( Calocybe indica P. & C.) in Orissa. Science and Culture 64(7/8): 177-178. Purkayastha R P and Chandra A. 1974. Transactions of British Mycological Society 62: 415-418. Purkayastha R P and Chandra A. 1976. A new technique for in vitro production of Calocybeindica - An edible mushroom from India. Indian Mushroom Journal 40: 112-113. Theradimani M, Meena B and Krishnamoorthy A S. 2001. Innovative techniques for improvement of sporophore size and yield of milky mushroom (Calocybe indica). Mushroom Research 10(1): 23-26.

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