Oyster Mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus) Cultivation Using Sawdust and Different Organic Manures

Aims: The aim was to evaluate the performance of cultivating oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus) using sawdust and different organic manures.

Study Design: The experimental design used was the complete randomized design (CRD) and the Data obtained was subjected to Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) followed by Turkey’s Least Significant Difference(LSD) test to compare treatment means; differences was considered significant at 95% (P≤0.05) (SPSS Version 21 software).

Place and Duration of Study: National Biotechnology Development Agency, South East Center, University of Nigeria, Nsukka between September 2019 and November 2019.

Methodology: Saw dust was prepared as substrate with different organic manures and coded SD, Saw dust; SDP, Sawdust+ Poultry; SDC, Saw dust + cow dung; SDD, Saw dust+ pig dung) in the ratio of 100:0 and 50:50 respectively to cultivate oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus). Subsequently, the rate of growth, time of harvest, yield and average weight were recorded and proximate composition determined using standard methods.

Results: Oyster mushroom harvested showed Moisture content ranged (4.63-7.14%), ash content (4.84-6.77%), crude fat (0.98-3.28%), fiber (16.02-18.23%), protein (19.27-33.41%) and carbohydrate (38.18%-48.89%). Average weight yield was highest in saw dust substrate (10.2g) with total yield (980g) and least average weight (7.5g) and total yield (105g) in sawdust and poultry litters substrate. Oyster mushroom from all the substrate differed significantly (p<0.05).

Conclusion: Sawdust was the most suitable substrate for oyster mushroom cultivation though sawdust and pig dung combination can be a good alternative.