Optimization of humidifying procedure in controlled environment for indoor cultivation of Pleurotus pulmonarius

Abstract

This study investigated mushroom cultivation in controlled indoor environment. For this, the environmental factors including humidity and temperature were controlled by humidifier and ventilation. Four ventilations were installed on tops to bring the air from inside to outside and four small ventilations were installed on side wall along with black filter to bring the air from outside to inside. Four humidifiers were placed in four different positions inside the cultivation house. A single unit of humidifier was applied along with two top ventilations and two side ventilation to optimize the humidifying duration for 80 to 90% humidity. In this process 15 min humidifying duration was optimized to retain 80 to 90% humidity. Then the four units of humidifier were applied for 15 min by one combined application and five individual applications to optimize the configuration to ensure the 80 to 90% humidity in the whole cultivation room with tolerable temperature. Finally, the individual application as 15 min interval period by following after every 15 min humidifying treatment from four different points had been optimized and applied for the cultivation of method. During cultivation 28.60±1.02°C temperature, 87.96±2.26% humidity, 0.035±.005% CO₂ and 34.53±19.003 lux light intensity had recorded. The total 261.8 kg mushroom was harvested from the controlled cultivation system, a fairly good production of mushroom was harvested till 7 flushes within 3 months of cultivation. This method of humidifying optimization and configuration procedure may ensure the continuous mushroom production throughout the years.

Key words: Indoor, cultivation, model, mushroom, environment, optimization.