ABSTRACT

Marasmiellus inoderma is an edible and medicinal mushroom in Nigeria. Vitamins and carbon nitrogen (C/N) are known to influence the mycelia growth and culture morphology of mushrooms. In this study, the effect of the vitamins (riboflavin, ascorbic acid, retinol, pyridoxine and thiamine) and C/N ratios (50:1, 40:1, 30:1, 20:, 10:1 and 1:1) on the growth parameters of Marasmiellus was evaluated. Each medium was prepared by supplementing with the vitamins and C/N ratios respectively. The media were inoculated with pure culture of Marasmiellus inoderma on Petri dish plates and incubated at room temperature for vegetative growth. The treatments supported the mycelia growth of the mushroom to varying degrees. The highest mycelia extension for vitamins was observed in the control (7.217±0.29 mm) followed by riboflavin (6.8667±0.20) and least for retinol (4.767±0.34 mm) after three days of inoculation. The highest mycelia extension for C/N was highest for C/N 30:1 (7.7833±0.21 mm), followed by C/N 20:1 (7.6167±0.16 mm), and least for C/N 40:1 (4.9833±1.34 mm). The highest biomass for vitamins was recorded in riboflavin, (0.65±0.05 g) followed by ascorbic acid (0.61±0.22 g) and control ((0.61±0.22 g), and least for pyridoxine (0.38±0.10 g). The cultures density rating ranged from thin, slightly dense to very dense depending on the supplementation. The culture morphology was either fluffy or appressed. The study, therefore, provide basic information on the nutritional requirement for the growth of Marasmius species. The study suggests that Marasmiellus inoderma has enzymes that can utilize the vitamins and amino acids tested for its growth. The study, therefore provide basic information on the nutritional requirements for the vegetative growth and fruit body production of Marasmiellus inoderma.