THE SHOCK "THERAPY" AND MUSHROOM PRODUCTION

Mushroom is a valued food material with high nutritional value and food connoisseurs consider them very tasty with typical delicate flavor. While many wild mushrooms are consumed in different parts of the world, commercial production needs specialized expertise and infrastructure. The productivity being low under commercial cultivation conditions, mushrooms fetch high returns to the growers. The white button mushroom, Agaricus bisporus, the most favored species for commercial cultivation and other varieties like Shiitake, Maitake, Oyster, Crimini, Portobello, Morel and Enoki also have found acceptance in the western world. Since mushroom is an important part of cuisines in the West, China and Japan efforts to increase productivity have led to the new finding that electric shock can boost the growth of mushroom.

"The results could lead to new harvesting methods that would significantly increase food production. That's good news for a Japanese food industry where mushrooms are a popular staple, and where around 50,000 tons of mushrooms must be imported a year, mainly from China and South Korea, just to meet the high demand. The study reached its conclusions after four years of bombarding mushrooms with artificially induced lightning, reports National Geographic. Ten varieties of mushroom were tested, and eight of those species responded by growing at an increased rate when electrified. The fungi reacted best when exposed to between 50,000 and 100,000 volts for one ten-millionth of a second. Researchers were able to get the shiitake crop to yield double the amount usually harvested, but the best performing species were nameko mushrooms, which produced a whopping 80 percent more mushrooms".

The scientific basis for the above phenomenon is still not clear but the ability to multiply when exposed to lightning could be a knee-jerk reaction to a hostile environment for ensuring survival. Such increased reproductive capacity helps production of more mushrooms, preventing total destruction. There appears to be some damage due to the electrical bursts but the loss is more than compensated by accelerated rate of protein synthesis and activity of some vital enzymes. The present market size for mushroom is estimated at $ 50 billion and some of the leading consumers include Japanese (14 kg/year per capita), Chinese (10 kg/year per capita) and the US (2kg/year per capita). New technology as and when commercialized is expected to provide adequate production to meet the ever increasing demand for mushroom.

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
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