INTRODUCTION

The Philippines is one of the Asian countries known for being highly

developed, especially in agricultural means. According to the Philippine Fiber

Industry Development Authority, the Philippines provided 87.4% of the world's

abaca in 2014, earning the Philippines US$111.33 million stating that the Bicol

region, in the Philippines, produced 27,885 metric tons of abaca in 2014, the

largest of any Philippine region. The corn, being the second most important crop,

wherein 600,000 farm households are employed. As of 2012, around 2.594

million hectares of land is under corn cultivation and the total production is 7.408

million metric ton.

On the other hand, the PhilRice or Philippine Rice Research Institute

creates projects and programs that supports the use and acknowledgement of

crops. Example of these is their project in 2011 that is about rice production that

helped Tarlac increased their rice production by 83 percent. Another example is a

project from 2015 when they developed a cheaper irrigation for smaller-scales

farms. And recently, this year, the PhilRice started a program for farmers to help

them have a new business and knowledge about mushroom cultivation wherein

they used rice straws as a substrate. Aside from PhilRice, the University of the

Philippines-Los Baños, College of Agriculture and Food Science La Granja

Research and Training Station conducted a seminar that aims to provide

knowledge and skills in mushroom production technology that is available to all

interested mushroom growers.

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According to Cosadio and Song (2014) in their study, “Status and Prospect

of Mushroom Industry in the Philippines,” that the mushroom industry in the

Philippines was worse since 1995, and the lowest production volume was 355

metric tons in 2009. Dueto low-production cost the growing mushrooms in the

Philippines is economically feasible. The abundance of cheap substrates from

agro wastes and high demand, which will be profitable to the mushroom

growers. Most of the mushroom consumed were imported from the different

countries of South East Asia like China, Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia, Korea and

Japan.

A lot of programs, seminars and trainings had been conducted to spread

economic awareness and agricultural development that will not only help the

farmers or researchers to learn, but can also be a great help in our livelihood

since it has a lot of potential because of its viability and profitability.

However, rice straws are the most common substrate that is used for

Mushroom Production. The researchers would like to find other substrates to use

for Mushroom cultivation that is locally available in the Bicol Region.

In connection to this, Kamthan and Tiwari (2017) in their study

entitled, “Agricultural Wastes- Potential Substrates For Mushroom Cultivation,”

that agricultural wastes are rich in lignin cellulosic components which are difficult

to breakdown, but can effectively be done through mushroom cultivation.

Mushrooms are flesh fungi, spore bearing fruiting bodies which are produced

above ground on soil. They often refer to fruiting body of the gill fungi, which do
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not contain chlorophyll like green plants and as a result cannot manufacture food

by their own. They are very nutritious products that can be generated from

lignocellulose waste materials. The bioconversion of agricultural wastes into a

value added products is a good mean of their use. The property of edible

mushroom fungi to convert complex organic compounds into simpler ones is

used to transform the useless agricultural waste into valuable product.

Ashour (2013) stated in his study entitled, “Corncobs as Potential source

of Functional Chemicals,” that Corncobs are an important byproduct of the sweet

corn processing industry with 39.1% cellulose, 42.1% hemicelluloses and 9.1%

lignin.

Shawky, Mahmoud, Ghazy, Asker, et al. (2011), in their study “Enzymatic

hydrolysis of rice straw and corn stalks for monosugars production,” stated that

the composition of rice straw and corn stalks are mainly consisted of 19.64,

16.65% lignin, 32.15, 29.8% cellulose, 28.0, 33.3% hemicellulose, 11.33, 8.50%

ash and others 8.88 and 11.75, respectively.

In connection to this, Vijayalakshmi, Neeraja, Kavitha and Hayavadana

(2017) stated in their study entitled, “Abaca Fiber,” that abaca fibers has 19.00%

cellulose, 12-13% hemicelluloses and 10-11% lignin.

There are three important parts in mushroom production. The first one is

the Pasteurization where it is the process of eliminating unwanted organisms in

the substrates through stream heat. Next, Inoculation where it is the act of

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transferring mushroom tissue or seed into a specific culture medium or

substrate. Lastly, the Incubation where it is the period when the mushroom

mycelium slowly grows through the substrate after grain spawn inoculation.

(Rice-based Production Manual, 2018).

Nasiruddin, Haque, and Al Munsur (2008) stated in their study,

“Production of Oyster mushroom on different substrates using cylindrical block

system,” results have shown that the highest (1029.0 g) fresh weight of fruiting

bodies was obtained in sugarcane bagasse, whereas the lowest (943.7 g) in

mustard straw. The effectivity of the substrates was compared and tested

through the fresh weight of the fruiting bodies.

This study aims to introduce the use of cultivating mushroom to the

Bicolanos who will benefit from the said process using agricultural wastes that

are abundant in the Bicol Region to help them in their livelihood and improve

their knowledge, and compare the effectiveness of the said agricultural wastes,

corn cobs and abaca fibers.

Specifically, the study aims to:

1. To determine which is more effective between the corn cobs, abaca

fibers and rice straws as a substrate in terms of:

a. Weight of the mushrooms produced per flush

b. Duration for each substrate to fruit.

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2. To find out factors that might show the differences of the substrates in

the results.

If the corn cobs, abaca fibers or both of the substrates are not effective,

then the Bicolanos will not be able to use this substrates and will only use rice

straws which is the known and commonly used substrate for mushroom

cultivation.

Therefore, the researchers hypothesized that if the corn cobs, abaca fibers

or both of the substrates are more effective, then the Bicolanos will be able to

use these substrates instead of using rice straws which is a known and

commonly used substrate for mushroom cultivation.

This study will focus on the effectivity of the crops’ wastes that will be

used (corn cobs and abaca fibers) as a substrate in our experiment for the

cultivation of mushroom. The researchers will compare the corn cobs and abaca

fibers (experimental groups) to the rice straws (controlled group). By this

experiment, the researchers will discover other crops that can be used and are

abundant in the Bicol region aside from rice straws that is known and commonly

used as a substrate for cultivating of mushroom and the researchers will know

which crops’ wastes is more effective in mushroom cultivation.

This study is significant to the agricultural sector, government, economy,

students or future researchers since by comparing which substrate is best to use

for mushroom cultivation, farmers and mushroom growers will easily know which

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type of substrate to use when growing mushroom. Through this, people who

study, especially students, will get more knowledge on mushroom cultivation

using the different substrates that will be used. Therefore, this makes the job of

mushroom growers quicker and easier by determining which substrate grows the

mushroom faster and better. We will be able to determine easily which substrate

is best to use when we are looking through the duration or time and availability

of materials that the substrate will be suitable. Also, practicing mushroom

cultivation and comparing the effectivity of the substrates will help different farm

owners or people who are interested in cultivating mushrooms will be able to

help them and use this study as a guide for the production to increase, which is

an essential in uplifting the country’s economy. Furthermore, this study is

considered advantageous to students or future researcher because this study

may serve as their reference material in terms of getting to know different

substrates to use and to give more knowledge about mushroom cultivation.

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METHODOLOGY

This study will follow the parallel group design where in there will be two

experimental groups, which are the corn cobs and the abaca trunks that will be

used as a substrate. The control group will be the rice straws that will also be

used as a substrate to compare and determine the effectiveness of the

substrates in terms of the weight and duration per flush of the mushrooms

produced.

In doing the experiment, the researchers need to keep in mind that using

the right materials and doing the right procedures is a must and knowing what

variables the researchers are going to test. The experiment will easily tell what

are the different types of substrates such as abaca fibers and corn cobs that will

be our independent variable which is going to be manipulated and by

manipulating this, we can get our dependent variable which is the effectivity, if it

can grow a mushroom, the duration of the mushroom to grow in these

substrates and the weight of the mushrooms that can be produced per flush. For

our controlled variable, we are going to use rice straws as a substrate since it is

a commonly used substrate in mushroom cultivation and we can be able to

compare the effectiveness of the corn cobs and abaca fibers.

The materials used by the researchers in conducting the experiment are:

3/4 kg Rice straws 3/4 kg Corn cobs

3/4 kg Abaca fibers 3/4 kg Rice bran

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1 bottle of planting Spawn (Oyster) Paper (any kind)

6 pcs Rubber band Steamer with 200 liter steel drum

3 pcs 6 x 10 polypropylene (ppp) plastic

The researchers will use two phases. For Phase I, the researchers will

focus on how to prepare the substrates that will be use in the cultivation. The

substrates will have the same procedures and it is divided into four steps. First,

dry the substrates that will be used, rice straws, corn cobs and abaca fibers.

Then, soak it in water overnight. After, drain it and make sure that there will be

no more water left. Then, scrape or cut the substrates into small pieces. Lastly,

put the ¾ of the three substrates each in three different basins with ¼ of the

rice bran, which will be the first step in phase two.

For Phase II, the procedure will be the same for the three substrates and

will be divided into four steps. First, (since the researcher already have the

substrates ready,) add 1/4 kilo of the prepared substrates (rice straws, corn cobs

and abaca fibers together with the rice bran) in the polypropylene plastic. Each

substrate will only have one replicate. After, cover the opening and seal it with a

rubber band. This step is called casing. Then, to pasteurize the fruiting bags, put

it in a drum steamer. Next, boil the bags inside the drum for six (6) hours. If you

will use a pressure cooker (15 psi pressure) for the steamer, it will only take one

hour. Lastly, inoculation will be performed. Let the fruiting bags cool off and put

1 spoon of the ready-made oyster mushroom planting spawn. It should be done

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in a closed area wherein air is limited to enter. And as stated, the corn cobs and

the abaca trunks will have the same procedure.

The mushrooms can be consumed after three days from when the

mushroom started to grow. Consuming mushrooms beyond the said date can

make the mushrooms concaved that is not appropriate to use.

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Figure 1

Flowchart of Procedures

Data Analysis

The data gathered from the experiment done by the researchers will now be

analyzed to be able to determine which substrate is best to use in mushroom cultivation.

In the following table shows the results of different substrates in terms of the date the

mushroom grow and the weight of the mushrooms from different substrates. The

researchers got the weight of the mushroom by using a manual weighing scale, so the

weights of the mushroom are not exact and precise.

Substrate First Flush Second Flush Average

Abaca Fibers 5 grams 3 grams 4 grams

(24 days) (44 days)

Corn Cobs 35 grams 15 grams 25 grams

(28 days) (38 days)

Rice Straws 28 grams 17 grams 22.5 grams

(28 days) (41 days)

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Statistical Treatment

The researchers tested the substrates to see which substrate is the most effective

in terms of growth rate of the mushrooms that were produced. The researchers

compared the Abaca trunks and Corn cobs to the Rice straws which is a known substrate

for mushroom cultivation. The researchers used the ANOVA method wherein they

followed the formula stated down below.

Hypothesis:

H0: µ1=µ2=µ3

H1: At least one mean is different from the others.

Degree of Freedom Numerator: d.f.N. = k – 1

Where k is the number of groups

Degree of Freedom Denominator: d.f.D. = N – k

Where N is the sum of the sample sizes of the groups

*N = n1 + n2 + . . . + nk.

For the test value:

2
SB
F= 2
SW

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For the between-group variance:
i−¿ X GM
2
X¿
SB = ¿
Σ ni ¿
¿
For the within-group variance:
2
2 Σ( ni−1)Si
S W =
Σ(n i−1)

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Theoretical Framework

This chapter discusses the factors regarding the theoretical framework

used to address the research topic.

The temperature of the substrates affect the ramification of the molds.

The outside temperature where the fruiting bags are placed also affects the

ramification of the molds. Each substrate has different nutrition values that

causes the fungi (spawn) to spread. Fast ramification means that the time it

takes for the fungi to spread in the fruiting bag is also the fastest. Slow

ramification means that the time it takes for the fungi to spread the fruiting bag

is slower than the ones with fast ramification.

The finding in this study will help to determine the ramification of the

fungi that depends on the outside temperature of the fruiting bags.

The theoretical paradigm is shown in Figure 2.

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Host (substrate)

Mushroom Cultivation
Ramification

Temperature

Figure 2

Theoretical Framework

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Conceptual Framework

This study will compare the weight and duration of the mushrooms

produced per flush using different substrates for mushroom cultivation. It will

also focus on determining which substrate is best to use for mushroom

cultivation in terms of its growth rate.

This will determine the substrate that is best to use in growing

mushrooms through mushroom cultivation in terms of its growth rate. In order

for us to find out and to compare the substrates for mushroom cultivation

scientific investigations and experiment shall be conducted for us to know which

substrate will be the most effective to grow a mushroom with a growth-rate.

Experimentations will be performed in order to observe its effectiveness, focusing

on the comparison between substrates and its capability to grow mushrooms.

The finding in this study will help to determine which of the substrates

being tested is the best to use for mushroom cultivation in comparing their

weight and duration per flush in the produced mushrooms.

The conceptual paradigm is shown in Figure 3.

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Abaca trunks and Corn cobs use as a substrate in mushroom cultivation.

(INPUT) determining which substrate is best to use for growing mushrooms

through mushroom cultivation in comparing the mushroom’s growth-rate,
height and its weight.

(PROCESS) deciding on which substrate is best to use for mushroom

cultivation, determining the features and principles on why this substrate is
best to use for mushroom cultivation. Conducted experiment and investigations
to identify the substrate and its effectiveness and analysis on the obtained
data.

(OUTPUT) Applications and use of abaca trunks and corn cobs as substrate for
mushroom cultivation in determining which is better in terms of growth-rate in
growing mushrooms. That are stated as a reference for additional information
on the possibility of using this substrate effectively in present or in near future.

Figure 3

Conceptual Framework

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RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The researchers conducted the experimentation to determine the

effectiveness of the Corn cobs and Abaca fibers compared to the Rice straws by

analyzing the collected and computed data during the experimentation.

Objective 1. To determine which substrate is more effective by recording

and comparing the effectiveness of the corn cobs and abaca fibers compared to

rice straws as a substrate in terms of:

a. Weight of the mushrooms produced per flush

Substrate First Flush Second Flush Average

Abaca Fibers 5 grams 3 grams 4 grams

Corn Cobs 35 grams 15 grams 25 grams
Rice Straws 28 grams 17 grams 22.5 grams

The table above shows the data obtained by the researchers based on the

weight of the mushrooms per flush. Based on the experiment, it is shown that

the Corn cobs has the highest average with 25 grams while the Abaca Fibers has

the lowest average with 4 grams and the Rice straws is within the average with

22.5 grams.

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Substrate First Flush Second Flush

Abaca Fibers 24 days from 1st day of incubation 44 days from 1st day of incubation

Corn Cobs 28 days from 1st day of incubation 38 days from 1st day of incubation

Rice Straws 28 days from 1st day of incubation 41 days from 1st day of
incubation

b. Duration for each substrate to fruit

40
35
30
25
Abaca Fibers
20
Corn Cobs
15 Rice Straws
10
5
0
First Flush Second Flush

The Table above shows the data obtained by the researchers based on the duration for each

mushroom to fruit. It is stated above that the Abaca Fibers is the fastest to fruit among the

three substrates in the first flush while the Corn cobs and Rice straws fruited on the same

time on the first flush. For the second flush, the Corn cobs is the fastest to fruit followed by

the Rice straws and lastly, the Abaca fibers.

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The graph above shows the final results based from the weight of each

mushroom per flush.

Objective 2. To find out factors that might show the differences of the

substrates in the results.

The only factor based on the experiment that the researchers have

conducted is the chemical composition of the substrates that affected the

ramification on each fruiting bag.

Since the Corn cobs has 39.1% cellulose, 42.1% hemicellulose, and 9.4%

lignin, it had a fast ramification compared to the other substrates like the Rice

straws that has 19.64% lignin, 32.15% cellulose and 28.0% hemicelluloses.

While the Abaca fibers had the slowest ramification because it only had 19.00%

cellulose, 12-13% hemicelluloses and 10-11% lignin.

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ANOVA: SINGLE

FACTOR
SUMMARY
Groups Count Sum Average Variance
Abaca Fibers 2 45 22.5 60.5
Corn Cobs 2 50 25 200
Rice Straws 2 8 4 2
ANOVA
Source of Variation SS df MS F F crit
Between Groups 526.3333 2 263.1667 3.007619 2.352094
Within Groups 262.5 3 87.5

Total 788.8333 5

Since the calculated F-value does not lies on the region of acceptance, the

researcher will not accept the null hypothesis. This means that there is a

significant difference between the effectivity of the Abaca fiber, Corn cobs and

Rice straws as a substrate.

CONCLUSION

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The production rate of mushroom can be enhanced. However, it will take

time and effort on the part of many people especially mushroom growers. Using

abaca fibers, corn cobs and rice straws as a substrate can increase the

production rate of mushrooms and increase the income amount of mushroom

growers. The abaca fibers and corn cobs can be used as another substrate and

alternative to rice straws. Corn cobs has the greatest amount of mushroom

produced among the three substrates that was used. Also, the time it takes for

the corn cobs to produce mushrooms for the two flushes was the least among

the three substrates.

The three substrates have different results since each substrate contains

different nutrition value. Since the corn cobs have a high nutrition value, it has

fast ramification that causes the fungi to fully cover the fruiting bag.

The factors that affects the growth of the mushroom are the amount of

sunlight, type of treatment, ramification, and the environment where the fruiting

bags are placed.

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RECOMMENDATION

Based from the data obtained on the previous experiment conducted by

the researchers, the researchers recommend to use a longer time table to be

able to prepare materials and perform the experiment for the mushrooms to

properly grow. Also, the researchers recommend to use other agricultural wastes

as a substrate to further compare their capabilities to grow mushrooms. The

researchers also recommend to make more replicates for every substrate. Last

but not the least, the researchers also recommend to use an electronic weighing

scale to give exact measurements to use in weighing the mushrooms produced.

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