Silviu Alexandru Apahidean

Determination of apparent density and water absorbtion capacity of different cellulosic substrates used in Pleurotus mushrooms culture.

Pleurotus mushrooms are one of the most important cultivated mushrooms, after species of Agaricus and Lentinus. The increasing interest, for oyster mushrooms is due to their nutritional and medicinal value. The technology of culture is relatively simple and a lot of cellulosyc materials can be used as substrate. In plus, high benefits can be obtained with relatively low investments. Experiences have been organized in a greenhouse from Vegetable Growing Department, Horticultural Faculty, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Cluj-Napoca. Biological material has been represented by Pleurotus hybrid HK35. One of the first phases in mushroom Pleurotus technological process is wetting materials. The purpose of this operation is to ensure optimum moisture for fungus development (68-75%). If the water content is too high this will lead to anaerobic conditions, unfavorable to spawn. Anaerobic conditions favors the development of harmful microorganisms that produce toxic metabolites. Their presence is signaled by the appearance of a very unpleasant smell. A low content of water prevents the mycellium growth (Oei, 1996; Tudor, 2001).