Published online: March 8, 2021 ISSN : 0974-9411 (Print), 2231-5209 (Online) journals.ansfoundation.org Research Article Suitability of three different cereal grains for spawn development and their impact on the growth and yield of Macrocybe gigantea (Massee) Pegler & Lod. Sapna Devi* Article Info Department of Botany, University of Jammu, Jammu–180006 (J&K), India https://doi.org/10.31018/ Geeta Sumbali jans.v13i1.2547 Department of Botany, University of Jammu, Jammu–180006 (J&K), India Received: February 2, 2021 Revised: March 1, 2021 *Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected] Accepted: March 5, 2021 How to Cite Devi, S. and Sumbali, G. (2021). Suitability of three different cereal grains for spawn development and their impact on the growth and yield of Macrocybe gigantea (Massee) Pegler & Lod. Journal of Applied and Natural Science, 13(1): 204 - 209. https://doi.org/10.31018/jans.v13i1.2547 Abstract Mushroom cultivation is an economical biotechnological process for the conversion of various unused lignocellulosic wastes into protein rich food. The present study was conducted to assess the suitability of three different cereal grains viz., bajra (Pennisetum glaucum L.), wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and maize (Zea mays L.) for spawn production of Macrocybe gigantea (Massee) Pegler & Lod. and further its cultivation on two agrowastes (wheat straw and paddy straw) for assessing biological efficacy. It was observed that among the three cereal grains tested, bajra grains took significantly (P˂0.05) less time for spawn development. Moreover, a minimum period of spawn run (16.3 days), highest sporophore yield (343.6g/500g of dry substrate) and biological efficiency (68.7%) were also recorded from substrate bags inoculated with bajra grain spawn. These results sug- gest the use of bajra grain spawn for quick and successful cultivation of M. gigantea. INTRODUCTION emphasis is more on the temperate mushroom, Agari- cus bisporus. However, our country can excel in the Mushrooms have been appreciated across the world for mushroom industry only by cultivating and commercial- their unique flavour and have been valued by mankind izing some of the tropical and subtropical mushrooms. as a culinary wonder (Patel and Goyal, 2012). They One such edible mushroom of the tropical region is have been consumed by man for their delicious taste Macrocybe, which belongs to the Family Tricholoma- and pleasing flavour and are the cheapest source of taceae of the Order Agaricales (Kirk et al., 2008). It is protein particularly for the vegetarians. Besides being characterized by large fleshy sporophores, excellent rich source of proteins, mushrooms also contain fats, shelf life, ability to grow at temperature above 30°C, vitamins, crude fiber, carbohydrates and some essen- high biological efficiency and easiness in post-harvest tial minerals, which are the key factors for the normal handling. Macrocybe resembles another edible sum- functioning of the body (Sharma et al., 2017). They also mer mushroom, Calocybe very much as both have con- contain certain important vitamins like thiamine, ascor- spicuous large, saprophytic sporophores but it differs bic acid, nicotinic acid, riboflavin, pantothenic acid and from Calocybe as it lacks siderophilous granulation in biotin. This low cost vegetable is not only packed with the basidia and differs at DNA level (Razaq et al., essential nutrients but also has the unique properties to 2016). Macrocybe has seven well recognised species fight many deadly diseases (Thakur and Singh, 2014). widely distributed in the tropical regions of the world Cultivation of mushrooms is an eco-friendly activity, (Pegler et al., 1998). However, from India, only five wild which represents unique exploitation of the microbial species of Macrocybe viz., M. crassa, M. pachymeres, technology for the bioconversion of the unused ligno- M. gigantea, M. lobayensis and M. titans have been cellulosic wastes into nutritious food. In India, cultiva- reported so far and cultivation of only M. gigantea has tion of edible mushrooms started way back in 1961, but been attempted (Mohanan, 2011; Pamitha, 2014; This work is licensed under Attribution-Non Commercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0). © : Author (s). Publishing rights @ ANSF. Devi, S. and Sumbali, G. / J. Appl. & Nat. Sci. 13(1): 204 - 209 (2021) Kushwaha et al., 2016; Bharti, 2019). the local fields of Jammu (India) and chopped into 5-7 Macrocybe gigantea is an edible tropical mushroom, cm pieces. Thereafter, they were subjected to hot water which was reported for the first time from West Bengal (80-90°C) dip treatment in a drum for 40-50 minutes. (Pegler et al., 1998) where it is locally named as “Boro Excess water was drained off and the agrowastes were dhoodh chattu” (Dutta and Acharya, 2014). It is a new allowed to cool at room temperature and dry till 60% addition to the basket of cultivated mushrooms, which moisture was left. Substrates that on squeezing did not can be grown during summer months. It requires a tem- leak out drops of water were considered saturated with perature between 25-35ºC, the relative humidity of 70- approximately 60% moisture level and were considered 80% and light of 8-10 hours for its growth. To date, very ready for use. few investigations have been done to determine the suitability of different cereal grains for spawn production Spawning and spawn run of M. gigantea and its utility in the production of early For the process of spawning, transparent polythene fruiting bodies (sporophores) on the locally available bags (9×16 inch size) were taken and filled up to 3/4th lignocellulosic agrowastes (Duong et al., 2017 ; Akhtar of their capacity with alternate layers of the pasteurized et al., 2018) . Therefore, the present investigation was substrate and spawn (5%). The spawned bags were conducted to examine the suitability of different grains then transferred to hanging nets kept in the mushroom for spawn development and their impact on the growth house. A temperature of 25-35°C and relative humidity behaviour and yield of M. gigantea. of 80-90% was maintained in the mushroom house for spawn run. Each treatment was performed three times. MATERIALS AND METHODS Casing of bags Procurement of mushroom strain After completion of the spawn run, the bags were Pure culture of M. gigantea was procured from Direc- opened and encased with 2-4 cm thick layer of farm torate of Mushroom Research (DMR), Solan, Himachal yard manure (FYM), sterilized in an autoclave at 15 lbs Pradesh and Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural psi for 60 minutes. Casing layer was kept moist by Sciences and Technology (SKUAST), Jammu. The sprinkling water as and when required. strain used for fruiting ability was maintained on potato dextrose agar (PDA) and malt extract agar (MEA) medi- Cropping and harvesting um at room temperature and subculturing was done regu- After casing, the bags were retained in the hanging larly after three months to sustain their fruiting vigour. nets. After a few days, the mycelium of M. gigantea sprouted in the form of needle shaped primordia, some Preparation of spawn of which matured into large sporophores (Fig. 2). The The spawn was prepared by using the method outlined sporophores on maturation were harvested by twisting by Munjal (1973). Grains of three different cereals viz., lightly. The sporophore count and its corresponding bajra (Pennisetum glaucum L.), wheat (Triticum aes- weight were measured after every harvest. tivum L.) and maize (Zea mays L.) were collected from the local market, thoroughly washed and soaked in wa- Biological efficiency (B . E) ter for 5-6 hours. After that, the grains were boiled for It is an estimate of the ability of mushrooms to convert 30 minutes, drained, air-dried and mixed with 2 percent substrate into fruiting bodies. It was calculated as per gypsum (calcium sulphate) and 0.5% chalk powder the following formula: (calcium carbonate) to maintain pH at 6-7 and keep the Fresh weight of mushroom yield grains separate from each other. After proper mixing, B.E = -------------------------------------------- × 100 ......Eq.1 the grains were put in thoroughly cleaned bottles (500 Dry weight of substrate used ml) and fresh polypropylene bags up to 3/4th of their capacity, plugged with non-absorbant cotton and auto- Statistical analysis claved at 15lb/sq. inch for 2 hours. After cooling, the Data were subjected to Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) sterilized grains were inoculated with 3-5 uniform sized and the least significant difference was determined at mycelium discs of M. gigantea and incubated at 28±2°C the 5% level by Duncan Post Hoc test using SPSS soft- till the mycelium covered the surface of the grains com- ware package (Srikram and Supapvanich, 2016). pletely. Downward linear growth of the mycelium start- ed in each bottle/bag within 3-4 days, which completely RESULTS AND DISCUSSION covered the grains within 15-20 days (Fig. 1). During these studies, observations were made on vari- Collection and preparation of substrates ous aspects like spawn development, growth behav- Agricultural wastes like wheat straw (T. aestivum L.) iour, pinhead number, sporophore number, yield poten- and paddy straw (Oryza sativa L.) were collected from tial and biological efficiency of M. gigantea cultivated on 205 Devi, S. and Sumbali, G. / J. Appl. & Nat. Sci. 13(1): 204 - 209 (2021) a b c Fig. 1. Spawn prepared on: a. Bajra grains; b. Wheat grains; c. Maize grains. a b Fig. 2. Sporophores of M. gigantea cultivated on: a. Wheat straw; b. Paddy straw. wheat straw and paddy straw waste. gigantea on two agrowastes (wheat straw and paddy straw) inoculated with three different grain spawns Assessment of duration required for spawn were assessed. development of M. gigantea on different cereal As depicted in Table 1, minimum period for spawn run grains (16.3 days) was recorded on wheat straw inoculated Results depicted in Fig.