The Effect of Growth Conditions on Mycelial Run of Oyster Mushrooms spp. (Pleurotus spp.): Implication for Agricultural Practices

Abstract

Background: The Pleurotus genus is one of the most investigated white-rot fungus due to its excellent ligninolytic characteristics. It is a tasty mushroom that also has a number of biological impacts due to the presence of essential bioactive compounds. Many usual fermentation parameters affect lignocellulolytic enzymes in basidiomycete fungi, such as medium composition, carbon-to-nitrogen ratio, pH, temperature, air composition etc. The survival and multiplication of Pleurotus mushrooms is dependent on a number of factors, which may function independently or interactive effect on the growth of mushroom. Grasp the difficulty of treating Pleurotus species mushrooms necessitates a fundamental understanding of their physical, chemical and biological characteristics. Methods: In this study, the effects of culture media, temperature, carbon sources, nitrogen sources, grain sources and agricultural waste as lignocellulosic substrate on the mycelium growth of five species of Pleurotus species for spawn production were studied. Several trials were designed to evaluate factors affecting mycelium growth of five oyster mushroom species. The experiments were conducted during October to February in the year 2019 to 2021. The experiments were carried out in three replications per treatment. Result: The results of the experiment indicated that potato dextrose agar (PDA) and Malt extract agar (MEA) were the most suitable media for the mycelium growth of all oyster mushrooms. The optimal temperature for mycelium growth of all the oyster mushroom species was obtained at 25±2oC. Mycelium growth of all the studied oyster mushroom was improved by carbon sources such as dextrose and glucose. The nitrogen source such as ammonium chloride and ammonium sulfate also gave the greatest values in mycelium colony diameter of mushroom. Wheat was found to be favourable for mycelium growth of all the oyster mushroom species. In addition, paddy straw and sugarcane residue were selected as suitable lignocellulosic substrate sources for mycelium growth of all the studied oyster mushrooms.