If you leave a piece of moist bread covered under a small bell jar at a warm place, mould grows on it in a few days. Answer the following with reference to this observation:

(a) What would happen if the bread was not covered by the bell-jar?

(b) What would happen if moist bread was placed in a refrigerator?

(c) What appears first on the bread – the mycelia or the spores?

(a) If bread was not covered by the bell-jar, mould would have appeared but after a while. The humid and warm conditions within the bell-jar facilitate rapid production of mould.

(b) If the moist bread was placed in a refrigerator, moulds would not appear. Fungi like bread mould (Rhizopus) grow very quickly in warm and humid conditions. The low temperature inside the refrigerator would prevent its growth.

(c) Mycelia appears first on the bread, not the spores.