Abstract:
Mushroom cultivation has been considered to be beneficial for environmental waste
management with bioconversion of non-edible organic biomass into protein-rich food that
sustains food security as alternative food source. The objective of this thesis was to investigate
growth and yield response of Pleurotus sajor-caju on some locally available substrates and
test the nutritional content of the mushroom fruiting bodies. Culture of Pleurotus sajor-caju
was obtained from the Ethiopia Biodiversity Institute and the spawn was developed on yellow
coloured sorghum grains. The experiment was set up in a Completely Randomized Design
(CRD) on 6 different substrates. The data were analysed using SPSS version 26 with one- way
analysis of variance (ANOVA). Accordingly, the results suggest that the longest colonization
day was detected in the treatment 5 (22± 0.74) days, while the shortest for T1 (180.8) days at
p< 0.01. The longest time in days was observed for pin head formation was also recorded for
T1 (7.72 ± 6.8 days (p<0.05). In case of time taken for the first harvest, the longest time was
in T1 and T6 (8.4±.7 days) and (8.4 ± 1.6 days), respectively (p<0.05). The largest cap
diameters (13.1 ± 2.1 cm of T1 at first, 13±1.42 cm at second, and 13±1.42 cm at third
harvest were measured (p<0.01). The longest stalk was measured (8.2±6.3cm of T1, 9
±1.22cm of T5, 8.4cm of T3 at harvest 1, 2 and 3, respectively (p<0.05). The thickest was
found to be 2.1±.19 mm of T1, 1.8 ±.6mmof T1 and .52 ±.03 mm of T2 at harvest 1, 2 and 3
respectively. Similarly, the highest yields were recorded as 44.1±28.2 g/ /bag of T1, 50.1±25.4
g/ /bag of T1 and 80 ±25 g/ /bag of T2 at harvest 1, 2 and 3, respectively at p< 0.01. The
highest biomass was obtained with values of 12.8±7.01 g/ /bag of T3, 35± 3 g/ /bag of T1
and 33±4.8 g/ /bag of T3 at harvest 1, 2 and 3 respectively at p<0.05. The highest protein
content was recorded with values of 32.7±17.01 g of T2, while the lowest (11.78±4.4 g) was
obtained from T6 at p< 0.05. The highest (1.76±.64 g) lipid content was found in T2, while the
lowest (1.33±.42 g) was detected in T5. The highest (66±34 g) carbohydrates content was
observed from (T5, while the lowest (53.2±23.1 g) was noted in T3 at p< 0.05.
Correspondingly, the highest (11.2±5.2g) moisture content was observed in (T1, while
9.5±6.12g from T6. The results of this study clearly indicated that different substrates affect
the growth and yield of the oyster mushroom. Thus, different substrates and substrate blends
need to be evaluated for the formulation of optimum substrates for commercial scale of
mushrooms cultivation.
