Survey of mushroom consumption and the possible use of gamma irradiation for sterilization of compost for its cultivation in Southern Ghana

Abstract

Background: Mushroom cultivation is increasingly becoming a serious agribusiness in Ghana, especially at the time when entrepreneurship is being encouraged to reduce the pressure of employment in the government sector and also due to its nutritional and medicinal attributes.Methods: A survey was carried out using the rapid appraisal method to review the existing methods of sterilization, use of gamma radiation in substrate sterilization and food preservation, preference of mushrooms in Ghana by consumers and nutritional and medicinal attributes of the mushroom. Results:The survey demonstrated the popularity of drum (moist heat) technique of sterilization in Ghana. Majority (64%) of the respondents were dissatisfied with the method of sterilization of compost and spawn substrate, while 36% indicated the method was alright by them. Majority (82%) of the respondents had never heard of sterilization of substrates for cultivation and its subsequent preservation of food or mushroom by gamma irradiation technique. All consumers (100%) desired to see their favorite mushroom produced all year round, and this constituted a significant (p < 0.05) viewpoint. Furthermore, a significant (p < 0.05) majority (90%) of the respondents were all for promotion of the consumption of mushroom, while a small percentage (10%) were noncommittal. Conclusion:Information and knowledge on the gamma irradiation technique for substrate production and consumption patterns of P.ostreatus mushrooms were not widely disseminated as anticipated.

The Effects of Different Substrate Combinations on Growth and Yield of Oyster Mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus)

“…Due to benefits derived from mushroom production, many indigenous and commercial cultivation methods have been developed and put in place to domesticate mushrooms [18]. Cultivation of oyster mushroom on tree stumps and wood logs was initiated on an experimental basis in Germany by a scientist called Flack in the year 1917. e growing technology was later perfected in the USA by Block, Tsao, and Hau [19].…”

“…Cultivation of oyster mushroom on tree stumps and wood logs was initiated on an experimental basis in Germany by a scientist called Flack in the year 1917. e growing technology was later perfected in the USA by Block, Tsao, and Hau [19]. Cultivation of mushrooms has become a very profitable commercial agribusiness in most developing and developed countries such as the USA, Great Britain, China, Asia, Japan, Europe South Africa, and Ghana with China as the biggest producer producing about 3,918,300 tons each year [18]. China produces more than 85% of all oyster mushrooms worldwide; however, 95% of the total China production is for domestic consumption [20,21].…”

Gender dynamics in Consumer preferences and willingness to pay for edible mushrooms in Ghana

“…The findings also showed that the consumers frequently consumed the white button mushroom compared to the other types of mushrooms. Contrary to their findings, a survey conducted by Kortei et al (2018) on mushroom consumption and the possible use of gamma Keywords: edible mushrooms, gender, preferences, choice experiment, mixed logit (JEL Classification: B21, D12) irradiation for sterilization of compost for its cultivation in Southern Ghana revealed that 72% of consumers preferred oyster mushroom to the termite and straw mushrooms.…”

Firmness and biochemical composition of Shitake and Shimeji commercialized in natura and consumers' opinion survey

“…Consumption preference considering some mushroom species depends on the evaluated public and country, since the studies which were carried out in India reported that white bud (Agaricus bisporus) is the most consumed macrofungus (Shirur et al, 2014), whereas the oyster mushroom (Pleurotus spp.) is the most popular in Ghana (Kortei et al, 2018).…”