Effect of Different Food Processing and Agricultural Wastes on Mycelia Yield of White Oyster (Pleurotus ostreatus)

The mycelium makes up the thallus, or undifferentiated body of a fungus such as brackets, mushrooms, puffballs, rhizomorphs, sclerotia, stinkhorns, toadstools, and truffles. Mushrooms are fleshy fungi and there are edible or poisonous types. The edible mushrooms are consumed as food in different part of the world and are recognized for their ability to convert waste products into a protein-rich-food. In this study, different agro-allied wastes materials were used as substrates to grow Pleurotus ostreatus (White Oyster). The substrates include top forest humus, sawdust, ground nut shell, corn cobs, raphia inflorescence, cassava peel and fermented cassava chaff. Sawdust had the highest single mycelia yield of White Oyster producing 491.67±12.583g with Biological Efficiency of 49.167±1.2583% followed by top forest humus 426.67±20.8117g with Biological Efficiency of 42.667±2.081%. Ground nut shell, raphia inflorescence, cassava peel and fermented cassava chaff demonstrated low mycelia yield of mushroom with Biological Efficiency of 34.00±0.5%, 12.00±0.50%, 15.10±0.36% and 16.167±0.47% respectively. A 1:1 combination of corn cobs and sawdust has the highest yield of 495±10.00g. The study showed sawdust is the most suitable for oyster mushroom cultivation and should be encouraged to be employed for commercial production of mushrooms. Furthermore, the combination of Sawdust and top forest humus, sawdust and corn cobs substrates demonstrated high mycelia yield of mushroom.