Effect of organic amendments on yield of Pleurotus spp. in Arunachal Pradesh, Mushroom Research

Abstract

A study was conducted to investigate the effect of paddy straw added with black gram powder, rice bran powder, wheat bran powder, neem cake powder, maize powder, mustard seed cake and chicken manure, at 5% each, on the yield of Pleurotus flabellatus and P. florida. A control using paddy straw alone was included. In the case of P. flabellatus, the highest sporophore yield of 1350 g was recorded with substrate supplemented with wheat bran, followed by rice bran (1140 g). In P. florida, paddy straw supplemented with rice bran resulted in the highest yield of 1360 g, followed by wheat bran, mustard seed cake, black gram, chicken manure, maize powder and neem cake powder with yield of 1225, 1210, 1100, 1085, 1075 and 660 g, respectively. The overall mean percentage biological efficiency with the different supplements, irrespective of the test species, was higher in rice bran (90.67), wheat bran (81.67), mustard seed cake (80.67), black gram (73.33), chicken manure (72.33), maize powder (71.67) but lower in neem cake powder (44.00) compared to the control (53.33). Association of several fungal competitors was found during the cultivation that hampered the exact potential of the crop. The incidence of Trichoderma spp. (14-16%), followed by Penicillium spp. (11-13%) and Coprinus spp. (6-8%) were predominant. Prevalence of bunch growth of sporophores was 9-10%, whereas blackening of whole or partial substrate was 5-8% in bags supplemented with rice bran that ultimately resulted in yield reduction.