ABSTRACT

Mushroom science has gain importance mainly because of the nutritional and medicinal values.  The cultivation of mushroom is seen has a profitable agricultural business. This study investigates the cultivation of Hypsizygus ulmarius using local substrates to evaluate their effect on the yield of fruit-bodies and the mycochemical constituents. The substrates used were coconut fibre (CF), maize straw (MS), sugarcane bagasse (SB), coconut fibre + maize straw (CF+MS), coconut fibre + sugarcane bagasse (CF+SB), maize straw + sugarcane bagasse (MS+SB) and coconut fibre + maize straw + sugarcane bagasse (CF+MS+SB). The result revealed that the mean stipe length ranges from 1.87 - 2.43cm, mean cap size varies from 4.43 - 5.77cm, fresh weight ranges from 2.44 - 5.10g, biological yield ranges from 41.32 - 141.72g and biological efficiency varies from 11.81 - 94.48%. The highest mean stipe length was observed in the substrate CF+MS; while the substrate MS+SB recorded highest mean cap size, fresh weight, biological yield and biological efficiency. The analyses indicated the presence of vitamins in the mushrooms cultivated on different substrates which include vitamin B1 (0.78 - 0.94mg/100g), vitamin B2 (0.29 - 0.50mg/100g), vitamin B3 (1.72 - 2.81mg/100g), vitamin A (5.77 - 8.33mg/100g) and vitamin C (7.57 - 8.64mg/100g). The mushroom harvested from different substrates had a good profile for mineral content to include calcium (198.36 - 290.51mg/100g), magnesium (72.00 - 144.44mg/100g), sodium (6.72 - 9.36mg/100g), potassium (314.41 - 395.63mg/100g) and phosphorus (152.17 - 195.23mg/100g). The fruit-bodies indicated the presence of heavy metal such as zinc (1.13 - 2.40mg/kg), iron (6.28 - 16.98mg/kg), lead (0.17 - 0.25mg/kg), cadmium (0.09 - 0.15mg/kg) and copper (0.12 - 0.21mg/kg). The proximate analyses indicated that the mushroom contained appreciable amount of protein (19.25 - 24.50%), carbohydrate (39.59 - 43.25%), fibre (14.98 - 19.73%), ash ( 7.96 - 10.50%), moisture content (4.33 - 6.28%) and fat (3.80 - 4.20%).The result also shows a varying level of bioactive compounds which include tannin (0.56 - 0.74mg/g), alkaloid (4.80 - 7.90mg/g), phenol (2.82 - 4.55mg/g), flavonoid (3.80 - 4.30mg/g), steroid (0.16 - 0.75mg/g), hydrogen cyanide (0.01 - 0.07mg/g), anthocyanin (0.22 - 0.35mg/g) and saponin (2.60 - 10.00mg/g). The mushroom contained low level of Cadmium and Lead which are considered to be highly toxic, thus making it fit for consumption. Generally, the result revealed that the mushroom is of good quality. It contained nutrients which can help to improve the micronutrients and general well-being of the people.