Influence of Abiotic Factors on Seasonal Occurrence of Mites on Mushrooms: Calocybe indica and Pleurotus ostreatus and Working out Different Indices Values

The present paper includes the results of the study conducted from March, 2023 to February, 2024 on the seasonal occurrence of mites on mushroom fruit bodies as well as their bed and the influence of temperature, moisture content and relative humidity on the seasonal occurrence of mites on two types of mushrooms viz: White Milky mushroom (Calocybe indica) and Oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus). The maximum population was found during June, 2023 on White Milky mushroom fruit body as well as on its bed and in the case of Oyster mushroom, the maximum value was found in February'24 and November'23. The correlation coefficient (r value) in the case of mites on White Milky mushroom was negative with temperature (r=-0.334 and r=-0.167 on mushroom fruit body and bed respectively) but it was positive with relative humidity (RH) (r= 0.638 and r=0.718 on mushroom fruit body and bed respectively) and moisture contents (r=0.805 and r=0.850 on mushroom fruit body and bed respectively). In the case of Oyster mushroom, all abiotic factors were negatively correlated with the number of mites collected. The values of various indices (Relative abundance, Species richness, Species diversity, Species dominance and Species evenness) have also been included in this paper.