Physico—Chemical studies on Volvariella esculenta (Mass) Singer, a Nigerian edible fungus

Studies were conducted on the effects of temperature, pH, vitamins and plant hormones on the vegetative growth of Volvariella esculenta (Mass) Singer, a Nigerian edible higher fungus. This mushroom had its optimum radial growth at 35 °C with mycelial extension of 85.0 mm. The pH that supported best growth was 6.0. Pyridoxine was the most utilizable vitamin with mycelial dry weight of 123 mg/30 cm3. This was followed in order by thiamine and folic acid (P=0.01) while the least growth (33.0 mg/30 cm3) was sustained by pantothenic acid. Among the tested phytohormones, 2, 4-D (10.0 ppm) stimulated the best growth of 150 mg/30 cm3 but, 0.1 ppm of GA3 supported poor growth (53.0 mg/30 cm3). The significance of these observations is discussed.