Evaluation of agricultural wastes for growth and yield of oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus florida)

An experiment carried out to investigate the possibility and potential use of different agricultural wastes as a substrate for production of oyster mushroom. Five different type of substrates such as wheat straw, rice straw, mustard straw, maize straw and mixture of wheat and rice straw were used for the cultivation of oyster mushroom. Among the different substrates, wheat straw performed significantly better on growth and yield of oyster mushroom (P. florida) compare to other substrate used in this study. Most of the mushroom producers use wheat straw for the cultivation of oyster mushroom and it is really one of best substrate used in this study, rice straw is also a good substrate for the production of oyster mushroom. Although the amount of yield in rice straw is lower than the wheat straw, other substrates such as wheat straw + rice straw, mustard straw and maize straw can also be used as alternative substrates for the cultivation of P. florida. This study showed that wheat straw is one of the best substrate among all and would be recommended for production of oyster mushroom.