The Use of Acute Gamma Irradiation For Edible Mushroom Improvement

Full-text:Acute gamma irradiation is one of the physical mutation methods that can produce variations in mushroom species through changes to external properties (phenotype) and internal properties (genotype). This variation is important for growers and consumers to choose mushroom needs according to suitability and demand in the mushroom industry. Three commercial mushroom species have been developed through the acute useof gamma radiation. The acute gamma irradiations were carried out in Gamma cell located at Nuclear Malaysia. The irradiation process involves two stages, namely the laboratory stage and the farm stage. At the laboratory level, identification of strains from superior species, irradiation, screening and selection are done intensively in vitro. While in vivo cultivation is done in multiple locations in the mushroom farm. The study shows that the species used, namely Pleurotus florida, Plourotus pulmonarius and Volvarela volvacea, have certain specificities in terms of temperature and humidity in the growth room. The humidity required during mycelium development is 70% whereas for fruiting is 80%. In the field, the same parameters are found to vary according to the planting location. The growth and development of mycelium in vitro for the mushroom Pleurotussp. and Volvariella sp. is between 25-28℃. In vivo growth requires temperatures between 22-28℃ and 28-35℃ for both Pleurotus and Volvariella respectively. Both stages require good aeration to enable the production of fruit bodies and mycelium development more actively. This study allows the development of smart mushroom houses to be developed. Currently, the agricultural sector is needed new strains in making mushrooms one of the commodities that can be used for the country. (author)