Soybean Straw: A Promising Substrate for Cultivation of Oyster Mushroom

Pleurotus species viz, P. djamor, P. platypus, P. florida and P. eous were cultivated on various agro-wastes. The experiment was undertaken to determine duration and total yield obtained during three harvests of P. djamor and P. Platypus. The yields and Biological Efficiency (BE) for all Pleurotus spp. on different agro wastes was compared. The average period for three harvests required on different substrates ranged from 38-40 and 42-44 days for P. platypus and P. djamor respectively. Soybean straw was found to be a potential substrate for cultivation of P. djamor (BE 109.4 %) followed by P. platypus (BE 103.4 %). Both species yielded better on the other substrates also viz Chickpea (B. E.81.2 % and 80.3 %), pigeon pea ( BE 74.9 % and 58.6 %), wheat ( BE 51.9 % and 83.4 %), mung bean ( BE 68.6 % and 65.3 %) and chick pea (BE 31.0 % and 53.0 %) respectively. P. platypus performed better with 53 % BE on all substrates. P. euos yielded well on Sorghum ( BE 51.0 %) followed by wheat ( BE 48.0 %). Comparatively the performance of P. florida and P. eous was better on soybean and other substrates. Hence, it was concluded that soybean is a promising substrate for the cultivation of Pleurotus spp. in this region.