Coconut fiber as casing material for mushroom production
2006
Rangel, J.I. | Leal, H. | Palacios-Mayorga, S. | Sánchez, S. | Ramirez, R. | Mendez-Garcia, T.
The use of coconut fiber as casing material in mushroom production, as an alternative to decrease the use of the endangered forestal “black soil” Morelos [Humic Andisol; (Soil Taxonomy); Andosol, (WRBS FAO-UNESCO); Aplustand pachico, (Soil Survey Staff, 1998)], from forest areas of Huitzilac, Morelos State, Mexico, was the subject of this investigation. Coconut fiber, a lignocellulose by-product, was physically and chemically analyzed and evaluated in a commercial mushroom production facility to determine its feasibility as casing material. These analyses indicated that coconut fiber has a series of physicochemical properties which actually enhance the characteristics of “black soil” when mixed in a ratio of 50:50. Productivity trials carried out using casing mixtures of “black soil” as much as 85% of coconut fiber indicated that such mixtures produced the same yields as “black soil” alone.
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