Effects of cacl2 on shelf life and quality of pleurotusostreatus

The limited durability of mushrooms is a significant obstacle to their commercialization and consumption. The objective was to assess the impact of CaCl2 treatment on production characteristics such as dry matter, yield, colour, firmness, wet loss, and tissue calcium content in three consecutive flushes. The study involved applying five concentrations ofCaCl2 irrigation treatments (0.35%, 0.45%, 0.55%, 0.75%, and 1.00% CaCl2) as well as tap water (control) to the Pleurotusostreatus white strain, for 8 days at 4oC. The statistical analysis of the data indicated that CaCl2 treatment enhanced the dry matter content, increased the concentration of Ca in the mushroom tissue, and enhanced the colour, and firmness, reduced wet loss, but had little impact on the yields. A linear relation was observed between the amount of CaCl2 used and the shelf life and quality of mushrooms. The highest Ca content was found in mushrooms treated with 0.75% and 1.00% CaCl2. Concentrations of 0.35%, 0.75%, and 1.00% were seen to delay the softening of mushrooms, resulting in increased firmness, preserving freshness by preventing the occurrence of browning throughout their shelf-life. Treating the mushrooms with CaCl2 solution for 8 days at 40C could be used as asustainable production approach that could help to increase the shelf life and postharvest quality of Pleurotusostreatus, to boost its commercialization and consumption.