4. Discussion
The three substrates, cotton wastes, plantain leaves and
maize husks supported the growth of V. volvacea, indicating
efficient bio-conversion of these agricultural wastes.
The ability of V. volvacea to degrade these agricultural
wastes makes it a useful tool in waste management as
well as in nutrition. Onuoha et al., [6] reported that Volvariella
volvacea could be grown on agricultural wastes.
Akinyele and Akinyosoye [12]; Peng [13] reported the
same view furthermore, observed that these wastes are
produced in large volumes during agricultural crop production
every year causing significant environmental problems
in many countries. Only a very small part of these
agro-wastes have been properly converted into useful or
high -value products. In a similar report on oyster mushroom,
Akinyele et al. [14] reported conversion of agrowastes
to useful biological products by oyster mushrooms
while Ghosh et al. [15] observed that various species
and strains of this edible mushroom are able to utilize
woody materials and non-woody materials efficiently
by degrading their ligno-cellulosic ingredients. Since maize
husks and plantain leaves (which are wastes after harvesting
maize seeds and plantain fingers) are so abundant,
farmers should be encouraged to employ them as substrates
for mushroom production.
The significant difference observed for carbohydrate,
protein, ash and fiber content may possibly be due to the
different composition of the substrates and the rate at
which the mushrooms use secreted enzymes to convert
the lignocellulose compound to useful product with the
aid of enzyme secreted. Diego et al. [16] reported that
substrates are both a physical support and a source of
nutrients for the mushrooms to complete their life cycle
from vegetative to reproductive phases.
The lipid contents obtained from the substrates showed
no significant difference among the three substrates used.
This observation is similar to the work of Haq et al. [17]
who reported similar lipid content for V. volvacea. The
low lipid content probably contributed to mushrooms
being referred to as ‘healthy food’. The observation made
on ash and fiber is similar to the reports of Wani et al.
[18] and Haq et al. [17] respectfully