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Abstract: In research on mushroom composts and composting, many difficulties are encountered which limit the value of experiments, especially if results meaningful to commercial practice are an objective. These difficulties are largely due to the variables of composting. The use of animal manures as a basic ingredient are a primary cause of variability. Vegetable waste materials such as cereal straws and the usual supplements are chemically more consistent than animal manures. Methods of composting are inherently variable e.g. there are large differences in temperature and oxygen availability in any one stack. Even in Stage II the pasteurization process, there are marked differences in temperature regimes and aeration rates within a heat-room structure. Such differences are a restriction to precise experimentation. Finally, variations associated with sampling are a problem which affect the validity of chemical analyses and the estimation of microbial populations. Because of these practical difficulties in experimentation, it has been a major objective of our programme to devise a system in which the fundamental aspects of composting can be studied and the results applied to commercial conditions. To do so it has been necessary to determine those facets of composting which are essential to the process and to integrate these with the nutritional requirements of the crop.
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