Utilization of Selected Urban Wastes as Substrate Solutions in the Growth and Yield Performance of Pleurotus sajor-caju (fr.) Singer (gray oyster mushroom)

Abstract

Mushrooms are being cultivated worldwide for its nutritional and medicinal value. Agricultural wastes rich in lignocellulosic substances are commonly used as substrates for mushroom cultivation. Moreover, selected urban wastes that contain lignocellulosic substances are also potential substrates which when utilized can help lessen wastes in the environment. This study tested the possible utilization of selected urban wastes as solution substrates for the growth and yield performance of Pleurotus sajor-caju (Fr.) Singer. Four different urban waste substrates (banana peels, newspaper, cotton textile scraps and mixture of leaf litters) and their combinations were used in the study with sawdust which served as the control. Percentage of mycelial growth, colonization period, primordial formation, harvesting time, number of fruiting bodies, cap diameter, stalk length, total yield and size of the mushroom and biological efficiency of the substrates used were assessed to determine the effects on growth and yield. Results revealed that the substrate with 50% newspaper + 50% sawdust showed rapid colonization, fast primordial formation and earliest harvest day and obtained the highest yield of mushroom and biological efficiency. Mushrooms did not proliferate mostly in the substrates with the combinations of leaf litter, however, 25% leaf litter + 75% sawdust produced less yield of mushrooms. The least yield of mushrooms was from the substrate with 100% cotton textile scraps. Other combinations used in the study are effective substrates in cultivating P. sajor-caju, but have different average number and yield of mushrooms produced. The study demonstrated that faster mycelial growth is consistent with better yield of the mushroom and highest biological efficiency of the substrate.