Nutritional assessment of compost by SMC method for white button mushroom cultivation in Maharashtra

Abstract

Like human beings and animals, White Button Mushroom (WBM) also require food, for growth and development of its fruit body. This fruit body is composed of certain chemical elements frequently referred to as plant nutrients or plant diet elements. Carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, sulfur, iron, manganese, boron, zinc and copper. Mushroom cultivated on the compost. Compost prepared for WBM was formulated without any addition of inorganic fertilizer. Samples were collected and dispatched to a research laboratory for analysis to determine the nutrient content of compost. The fresh compost had varied, with carbon: nitrogen ratio of 26.13 to 20.24% and carbon:phosphorus ratio of 49.95 to 34.92% and carbon:potassium ratio of 62.83 to 82.84%. Organic matter content between 31.65 to 24.49% and carbon between 39.79 to 17.81%. For the primary macronutrients, average total nitrogen content 1.25%, phosphorus measured 0.68%, and potassium was 0.414%. Boron 9.51 ppm, Mn 145.70 ppm, Fe 3515.58 ppm, Cu 10.17 ppm and Zn 25.53 ppm. Overall, fresh prepared compost is suitable for WBM cultivation.