A mixture of cereal straw and cotton waste (2 m × 1 m × 1 m
volume)
fully wetted prior to fermentation. The pile was turned
each
time the temperature at a depth of 10 cm reached 55
C, and
the
pH was regulated to ∼8.0 with lime. After uniformly mixing,
the
compost was spread over the cultivation beds to a thickness
approximately 12 cm and the compost temperature was maintained
at 65
fall to ∼38
◦
C for 24 h. The surface temperature was then allowed
C by natural cooling before inoculating with spawn,
after
which the room temperature was maintained 30–32
◦
C. Water
was
added to the compost five days after inoculation, primordia
appeared
2–3 days later, and harvesting commenced after a further
4–5 days. Each cross-bred strain was cultivated in triplicate,
and
cultivation data was subjected to statistical analysis using SAS
software.
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