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Abstract: Innumberable complexities exist in the realm of the organic constituents of compost yet major carbonaceous nutrients for the button mushroom have been considered to be the carbohydrates (Styer, 1928; 1930), lignin, proteins (Waksman and Nissen, 1932) and caramelisation products of carbohydrates (Sinden and Mauser, 1953). The mushroom yields are substantially influenced by the nutritional make-up of the compost especially nitrogen, phosphorus and the major cations (Stoller, 1954). Different strains of Agaricus bisporus interact variably for uptake of nutrients, particularly carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) from the compost. The decline in the total C and increase in the total N and ash contents during spawn impregnation of the compost and the subsequent cropping phase have been reported (Bretzloff and Fluegel, 1962; Gerrits, et al., 1967; Gerrits, 1969; 1974) but N concentration records a continuous decrease when calculated on equal ash content basis. However, Levanon et al. (1983) reported almost constant values of N as well as C:N ratio while the ash content of the compost increased from the spawn-run to the picking. The present study has been conducted on four high yielding monospore isolates of Agaricus bisporus (Lange) Sing., Strain S 11 (Phutela, 1986) in order to determine the pattern of C and N depletion from the compost during the mycelial growth and different stages of mushroom picking so as to establish a relationship, if any, between the nutrient uptake and yield performance of the culture.
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