Evaluation of Different Substrates for Mother Spawn Production in Oyster Mushroom

Oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus) (var.white snow) cultivation is a sustainable biological process dependent on high-quality mother spawn for optimal yield and reduced contamination. This study evaluated the performance of nine mother spawn substrates (T1=Mustard, T2=Red maize, T3=50% Rice straw + 50% Sawdust, T4=Wheat, T5=Kaon, T6=Gram, T7=Pea, T8=Rice, and T9=White maize) to determine their effects on mycelial growth, contamination severity, yield, and biological efficiency. A Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with five replications was conducted at Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, Bangladesh, from November 2020 to March 2021. Rice (T8) and wheat (T4) mother spawn exhibited zero contamination across cultivation stages, while mustard (T1) showed the highest contamination (46.67%) at 45 days after stimulation (DAS). The shortest mycelial colonization period (16.33 days), highest mycelial biomass (4.08 g), maximum number of effective fruiting bodies (31), highest economic yield (168.33 g), and maximum biological efficiency (35.13%) were recorded in T8(rice substrate) followed by T4(wheat) and T9(white maize) WhileT1(mustard) and T3(mixed substrate) showed inferior performance. A strong positive correlation (R² = 0.7522) was observed between effective fruiting bodies and economic yield. Results showed that contamination severity varied significantly among treatments, increasing with cultivation time. Therefore, it may be concluded that rice and wheat grains were the most effective substrates for mother spawn production, growth and yield of P. ostreatus with minimal contamination. Bangladesh J. Agri. 2026, 51(1):157-168