ABSTRACT

The edible mushroom, Pleurotus sajor-caju (Fries) Singer was grown on several locally available agro-waste, Oryza sativa Straw, Elaies guineersis fibre, f;cnanthus angolensis sawdust, Ceiba petandra sawdust and Gmelina arborea sawdust. The experiment was done to compare the yield of Pleurotus sayor-caju on this agrowaste'. The substrates were pasteurized at a temperature of 802for one hour in a gas-heated drum after soaking them for D4 hours, The cultures were inoculated with rice straw spawn and incubated at room temperature (28 ± 2°C). Initiation of primordia started about 14 days after inoculation of the experimental fungus. The primordia matured into fruit bodies in another 2-3 days after initiation and were subsequently harvested. Of the five substrates used for the cultivation of Plenurotus sajor-caju , the best performance came from Oryza sativa straw with a total fresh weight of 142g followed by Pycnanthus angolensis with a total fresh weight of 56.4g as well as Ceiba petandra sawdust with a total fresh weight of 26.9g. The yields from Elaies guineensis was relatively poor with a total fresh weight of 20.9g and Gmelma arborea recorded the poorest performance of all the substrates with a total fresh weight of 2.3g. Hence, it was deduced that Pycnanthus angolensis should be used for the commercial growth of mushroom given that it was next to Oryza sativa straw in yield performance which is already an established substrate in the commercial production of mushroom.