One of the main causes for deterioration of mushroom is change in its texture. In the present investigation, hard-
ness of all the test samples declined during the storage. Both, the treatment method and storage period were found to have a significant (P < 0.05) effect on the hardness value of all the samples. Softening of mushrooms or loss of firmness is related to protein and polysaccharide degradation, hyphae shrinkage, central vacuole disruption and expansion of intercellular space at the pilei surface