Spawn Treatment by Cold Plasma for Increase Mushroom Germination and Production

Abstract

Cold plasma technology has found favour in the agricultural industry for growth stimulating by environmental friendly approach. However, there are still leaking studying of cold plasma technology on the mushroom needs. Current convectional mushrooms germination process requires long duration (∼6 weeks) for fruiting to growth. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the cold plasma efficacy towards the oyster mushroom germination speed and fruiting body production. By using novel atmospheric cold plasma pen system, the mushroom spawn grains were generates towards the spawn. Atmospheric pressure with flow rate of 4, 5 and 6 SLM by considering different duration plasma exposure (0, 5, 15, 30, 45 and 60 seconds) with ∼7 kV of supply voltage was supplied. The efficiency of the treatment was characterised by mushroom cultivation performance particularly on (i) mycelium growth rate and (ii) mushroom fruiting body productions. The results show cold plasma processing parameter, flow rate and treatment time absolutely influence the mushroom germination and production. CP pen system optimized at 5 SLM and 15 s presents triple production of mushroom weight and speed the mycelium growth rate (only 4 weeks) compared to control spawn grains (6 weeks). As conclusion, cold plasma pen system capability applies in mushroom industry.

Optimization of Plasma Activated Water Extraction of Pleurotus ostreatus Polysaccharides on Its Physiochemical and Biological Activity Using Response Surface Methodology

“…According to the PAW machine capacity, five distinct levels of gas flow rate (15,20,25,30, and 35 L/min) were examined in this study. The following extraction variables were set: 1:20 of sample-to-water ratio, 400 W of power, and 3 min of treatment time.…”

“…Also, several plasma factors, including gas type, applied voltage, treatment time, and water-to-sample ratio, have been reported to affect the efficacy of plasma-induced extraction [13,19]. However, only a few studies have employed cold plasma technology for improving P. ostreatus germination and sterilization [20]. Additionally, there is a limitation in research on the impact of PAW treatment on plant extraction regarding its effect on phytochemicals and biological potential, notably in plant polysaccharide extraction [18].…”

Effect of Cold Plasma Voltage and Treatment Duration on the Microstructure and Hydrophilicity of Mushroom Grain Spawn

“…Better understanding of cold plasma towards the mushroom industry is important, as the demand for mushrooms in Malaysia is estimated to increase along with the population due to its health benefits 18) . Besides that, there exist a contradictory part, where cold plasma was found to speed up the growth rate of mushroom mycelium and increased the production rates [19][20] . But we knew from previous research that cold plasma has fungi deactivation behaviours, which was not the case in this study.…”

The effect of atmospheric plasma jet treatment on honeydew melon seed

“…There are several study using plasmas to treat crop to boost germination, growth, and physiological levels, leading to an increase in output such as wheat [8], safflower (Carthamus tinctorium L. semen) [9], wild asparagus, [10]. Several studies used plasma to treat sunflower seed [11], rice [12], and mushroom spawn [13]. The exposure of the seeds these plasmas played a role in breaking dormancy as well as encouraging growth, resulting in higher yield.…”