Fruiting bodies yield of oyster mushroom (Pleurotus columbinus) as affected by different portions of compost in the substrate

Purpose A study was conducted to assess production ofPleurotus columbinus mushroom fruiting bodies for differentformulations of rice or corn straw substrates mixedat different percent portions with the corresponding compostedstraw.Methods These formulations were: (1) raw straw (RS)mixed with 5 % composted straw (CS), (2) RS mixed with10 % CS, (3) RS mixed with 15 % CS, (4) RS mixed with25 % CS, (5) RS mixed with 50 % CS, and (6) 100 % RS.Composted straw (CS) was made of moistened chopped RSmixed with chicken manure and soil (4:1:1, v/v).Results Data showed a magnificent impact of the substrateon oyster mushroom fruiting bodies yield and characteristics.There was a significant progressive upgrading in allparameters studied of mushroom growth and crop outcomewith increasing the percentage of CS mixed with the RSsubstrate up to 15 %. Utilizing CS at 25 % significantlydowngraded these parameters. No mushroom growth wasobserved at all when cultivated in medium contained 50 %CS. Instead, molds of different colors grew on that lattersubstrate mixture. The formulation containing 15 % CSdistinctly gave the uppermost fruiting bodies yield, biologicalefficiency, earliness for pinheads formation, fruitingbody cap diameter, thickness and weight and stemdiameter, length and weight. Up to 80 % increase infruiting bodies crop outcome relative to sole RS wasdetected.Conclusions This study suggests that composted strawsubstrates hold a great promise for the development ofPleurotus mushroom production industry.