Suitability of locally available substrates for cultivation of the Kenyan Pleurotus citrinopileatus Singer

Abstract

The growth and yield performance of indigenous Pleurotus citrinopileatus on selected locally available substrates were determined as a prelude to its domestication. Seven substrates namely bean straw (Phaseolus vulgaris), sawdust of African mahogany (Khaya anthotheca), rice straw (Oryza sativa), maize cobs (Zea mays), wheat straw (Triticum aestivum), sugarcane bagasse (Saccharum officinarum) and banana leaves (Musa sp.) were tested for their suitability for production of the indigenous Pleurotus citrinopileatus. Each treatment had 9 plastic bags each containing 1 kg of fresh weight of substrate, each spawned with 50 g of indigenous oyster mushroom, Pleurotus citrinopileatus. The treatments were arranged in a completely randomized design. Data was collected on days to pinning, fruiting body yield (fresh weight) and biological efficiency. Data collected was subjected to analysis of variance using minitab version 14. Mean separation was done using Tukey test and effects declared significant at 5% level. The substrates were significantly different (p<0.05) in biological efficiency; yield and days to pinning. The best performance was obtained from the bean straw substrate. Maximum yield (397.71 g kg-1 wet substrate) and biological efficiency of 148% were obtained from bean straw at spawn rate of 5%. This study recommends bean straw as a new substrate for cultivation of Pleurotus citrinopileatus at spawn rate of 5% under local conditions which is being reported for the first time in Kenya.