Variations in Morpho-cultural Characteristic among Five Species of Oyster Mushroom (Pleurotus spp.)

In the present investigation, the effect of different nutrient media (PDA, MEA, YEA, CDA and CEA), temperature (15°C, 20°C, 25°C and 30°C) and pH (5.0, 6.0, 7.0 and 8.0) on the mycelial growth of Pleurotus spp. viz., P. sajor-caju, P. ostreatus, P. citrinopileatus, P. florida and P. djamor were studied. The maximum mycelial growth, among all the culture media tested was observed on Malt Extract Agar followed by Potato Dextrose Agar and Carrot Extract Agar where on the other minimum growth was noticed in Czapek’s Dox Agar. The effect of different pH for the mycelial growth was tested and it was noted that different Pleurotus species exhibited maximum mycelial growth at pH 7.0 followed by pH 6.0. Thus, temperature also played a significant role in the growth of mycelium. The effect of different temperature was evaluated for the growth of Pleurotus spp. where mycelial growth of all strains on 20°C was recorded to be optimum followed by 25°C, respectively and the growth of mycelium was much slower on 15°C.