Growth and yield of Hypsizygus ulmarius (bull.) Redhead, on some selected organic wastes

Abstract

Hysizygus ulmarius is an edible fungus cultivated as a source of alternative protein using different agricultural waste thereby playing a significant role in waste management. The aim of this study was to investigate the growth and yield performance of Hypsizygus ulmarius (Bull.) REDHEAD on organic wastes. H. ulmarius stock was collected from Mushroom Institute while the five waste; sawdust (SD), oil palm fibre (OPF) rice bran (RB), corn husks (CH) and banana leaves (BL) were collected from a saw mill and a farm, all in Osun State, Nigeria. The inoculated substrate bags were laid out in completely randomized design. Seven treatments namely; sawdust (SD), rice bran (RB), corn husks (CH), oil palm fibre (OPF), sawdust + rice bran (SDRB), banana leaves (BL), oil palm fibre + Rice bran (OPFRB) were assessed. Spawn running, pin head formation, cap size, mushroom growth and weight of sun-dried harvested mushrooms were measured daily. SD and CH recorded the longest period (22 days) for spawn run, followed by OPFRB (19 days) while the least was obtained in SDRB (18 days). Data obtained were subjected to Analysis of Variance and Duncan Multiple Range Test. Number of days for pin head formation differed significantly and varied between 5 to 10 days. BL recorded the highest yield (600 g/kg), which was closely followed by SDRB (590 g/kg) while rice bran had the least yield of 130 g/kg. It was also revealed that the BL recorded significantly the maximum biological efficiency (75.00%) while other substrates were at par with SDRB (73.75%). The minimum biological efficiency was recorded in RB only (16.25%). The implications of these findings were discussed.