Vol. 10, Issue 9 (2021)

Author(s):
Anil Kumar Sharma, Dr. SS Sharma and Ashok Kumar Gurjar

Abstract:
The present study was carried out with an aim to find out suitable casing material for commercial cultivation of Calocybe indica. Casing is a key phase in Milky mushroom production. It promotes the formation of pinheads from vegetative mycelium, which leads to mature basidiocarps. Therefore, an experiment was planned at Maharana Pratap University of Agriculture and Technology, udaipur Rajasthan. in which Farm yard manure (FYM), biogas spent slurry, and spent compost were used in four different combinations to evaluate their impact on Calocybe indica yield. Casing mixture were analyzed for the Bulk density, Particle density, Porosity and Water holding capacity. The porosity of casing mixtures ranged between 50-55% with maximum in spent compost + biogas spent slurry (1:1 v/v) as a result of maximum percent pore space, highest water holding capacity i.e. 135% recorded in spent compost + biogas spent slurry. Out of four casing mixtures were tested a mixture of Spent compost + biogas spent slurry (1:1 v/v) gave maximum biological efficiency of 109.58% with highest number of fruiting bodies i.e. 30.2.