Addition of calcium chloride to irrigation water increases calcium content and improves quality of Agaricus mushrooms independent of inherent calcium content.
Beelman, R. B.; Simons, S.;
Science and cultivation of edible fungi. Proceedings of the 15th International Congress on the Science and Cultivation of Edible Fungi, Maastricht, Netherlands, 15-19 May, 2000. Year: 2000 Pages: 491-497 Ref: 16 ref.
2000
บทคัดย่อ
Significant improvements in mushroom quality resulted from addition of 0.3% CaCl2 to the irrigation water. This practice resulted in about a 2-fold increase in Ca content of mushrooms, improved initial whiteness at harvest and reduced postharvest browning compared to untreated controls. Mushrooms were more resistant to the negative effects of excessive handling or bruising. Anecdotal evidence also indicated that many commercial growers in North America have successfully utilized this practice to improve quality. Examination of data collected from crops grown in Pennsylvania between 1992 and 1998 indicated that Ca levels in control crops increased steadily and nearly doubled (8-16 ppm) during that time, but with no improvement in initial whiteness. Crops treated with CaCl2 added to irrigation water also followed the same pattern of increasing Ca, but at about twice the amount (16-27 ppm), compared with controls. Initial whiteness of Ca-treated crops did not improve over the 7 year period but was
significantly better than the controls. Crop yields and moisture content of mushrooms and whiteness after storage all improved over time. In general, mushrooms from control crops had higher moisture content but crop yields were not affected by treatments. Mushrooms grown in deep compost in bags were compared to mushrooms grown with less compost in trays. Mushrooms grown in bags generally had about 2-fold higher Ca levels than mushrooms grown in trays; addition of CaCl2 to irrigation water increased Ca content and improved whiteness of mushrooms after storage.