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

Nii Korley Kortei,Juanita Prempeh,George Tawia Odamtten,Mary Obodai,Michael Wiafe-Kwagyan

doi:10.1186/s40066-018-0235-8

Abstract

BackgroundMushroom 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.MethodsA 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.ResultsThe 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.ConclusionInformation and knowledge on the gamma irradiation technique for substrate production and consumption patterns of P.ostreatus mushrooms were not widely disseminated as anticipated.

Highlights

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 due to its nutritional and medicinal attributes
Majority of the studies were conducted in Accra because the national irradiation facility is located at the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC) at Kwabenya which was used for this study
A significant (p < 0.05) majority of 82% have not heard of the sterilization of mushroom compost by gamma irradiation

Summary

Introduction

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 due to its nutritional and medicinal attributes. Many indigenous and commercial cultivation methods have been employed over the years to domesticate many species of edible mushrooms for human consumption [1]. Mushroom cultivation as an agribusiness has gained some modest success in Ghana because many of our forest reserves which support rich wild growth of the mushrooms are depleting fast in rich biodiversity of indigenous mushroom species. It has become necessary to adopt modern mushroom cultivation strategies to sustain supplies of the species for human consumption in Ghana such as those obtained in the developed economies. The evolution of technical knowledge for commercial cultivation of mushrooms was a product of human need to extend the period of availability (seasonality) and reduce the inherent risk of mushroom hunting, meeting the growing demands for diverse culinary mushrooms [4]. Some modern pretreatments of substrates for mushroom cultivation include the use of chemical amendments, steam and gamma irradiation

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