Fungal and Bacterial Contaminants Associated with the Spoilage of Mushroom Spawn
Prerna Bhargav
Department of Plant Pathology, College of Horticulture, Dr. Yashwant Singh Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, Solan (H.P.), India.
Dharmesh Gupta
Department of Plant Pathology, College of Horticulture, Dr. Yashwant Singh Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, Solan (H.P.), India.
R. S. Jarial
Department of Plant Pathology, College of Horticulture, Dr. Yashwant Singh Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, Solan (H.P.), India.
Nivedita Sharma
Department of Basic Science, College of Forestry, Dr. Yashwant Singh Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, Solan (H.P.), India.
Rajneesh Thakur *
Department of Plant Pathology, College of Horticulture, Dr. Yashwant Singh Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, Solan (H.P.), India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Contamination has been a major problem associated with spawn of mushroom. In this study, the contaminating microorganisms in the spawn were isolated, identified and described. Results indicated that majority of microorganisms causing spawn contamination were mainly fungal pathogens; a very low percentage of bacterial contamination was observed. The fungal species causing contamination were Fusarium chlamydosporum, Phoma exigua, Aspergillus niger, Penicillium chrysogenum, Aspergillus fumigatus and Fusarium pallidoroseum. Only one bacterial contaminant i.e. Bacillus sp. was reported under study. Aspergillus fumigatus was the major fungal contaminant and Bacillus sp. was the only bacterial contaminant isolated from spawn incubation room environment, whereas from spawn inoculation room contaminants isolated wereFusarium pallidoroseum and Staphylococcus sp.
Keywords: Fungal contaminants, bacterial contaminants, spoilage, spawn characterization