Comparative study of growth and yield of edible mushrooms, Schizophyllum commune Fr., Auricularia polytricha (Mont.) Sacc. and Lentinus squarrosulus Mont. on lignocellulosic substrates

Abstract

Schizophyllum commune Fr., Auricularia polytricha (Mont.) Sacc. and Lentinus squarrosulus Mont. are edible mushrooms which are also proven to be medicinally important. This study was carried out to investigate the potential of locally available substrates to grow these mushrooms. Alternative substrates including dried banana leaves, coconut leaves, paddy straw and coir dust were compared with sawdust (rubber) which is the commonly used substrate for commercial production of mushrooms. Banana leaves, coconut leaves and paddy straw were cut into 1 cm × 0.2 cm pieces. To each substrate, 10% (w/w) rice bran, 2% (w/w) CaCO3 and 0.2% (w/w) MgSO4 were added. The mixture was filled into 200 gauged polypropylene bags (22 cm × 12.5 cm) and autoclaved. Each Bag was inoculated with a 1 cm2 block from the actively growing region of the mushroom culture maintained on PDA. After incubating under dark conditions at room temperature (28 ± 2 °C) and 78 - 80% relative humidity, mycelial growth rate and once fructification commenced, yield was determined. Highest rate for mycelial growth was observed in mixtures containing banana leaves for all three mushrooms. It was 10.345 ± 0.02 cm/week for S. commune, 7.818 ± 0.31 cm/week for A. polytricha and 10.895 ± 0.30 cm/week for L. squarrosulus. Highest mushroom yield for S. commune was obtained in coconut leaf (9.589 ± 0.66 g) and coir dust (9.182 ± 0.17 g) containing mixtures. A yield of 25.054 ± 5.18 g was recorded for A. polytricha in the medium prepared from banana leaves and sawdust (rubber) substrate was preferred by L. squarrosulus with a significantly higher yield of 54.079 ± 3.61 g.