Comparative yield and biological efficiency of oyster mushroom (<i>Pleurotus Ostreatus</i>) cultivated on sawdust of some selected tree species

Abstract

The performance of mushrooms in cultivation to a large extent depends on the substrates employed. Wood species were used as substrates. The study aimed to ascertain the potentials of producing edible macro fungi (Pleurotus ostreatus) cultivated using different substrates. The substrate treatments were Triplochiton scleroxylon, Ceiba pentandra and Cordia milleni, replicated five times and the samples were inoculated with mushroom seed (spawn) of Pleurotus ostreatus. The mycelia growth (%), lengths of stipe (cm), diameters of pileus (cm) and heights of flushes (cm) were recorded. Data recorded were subjected to Analysis of Variance and descriptive statistics. The analysis of variance carried out on yield and biological efficiency showed significant difference (P≤0.05). From the study, the result of biological efficiency shows that, T. scleroxylon gave a significantly higher mean of (72.64%) when compared with what was obtained using C. pentandra (49.84%) and C. millenii (57.34%) as substrate.

Keywords: Agricultural wastes, biological efficiency, comparative, P. ostreatus, yield