Comparative studies on growth and yield of pleurotus ostreatus on different types of substrates

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2015-11-04
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So many agricultural wastes such as coconut coir and bean straw can be turned into useful products to increase their biomass use in Ghana. Proper composting and effective management of these wastes can render them useful in mushroom production. The project was carried out to compare the response of Pleurotus ostreatus on three types of substrates at three different composting periods. The substrate types used included sole bean straw, bean straw mixed with coconut coir at 2:3 ratio and sole coconut coir substrate. These were composted at different time periods and different parameters such as rate of mycelia formation; number of bags full y colonized; time of first flush; length, width and perimeter of fruits; yield of mushroom; dry matter content of the mushroom; biological efficiency and cost benefit analysis of using the different substrate types were determined. The sole coconut coir substrates gave the highest C:N ratios ranging from 97. 75 for the sole coir composted for 21 days to 106. 85 for the same substrate composted for a day. The sole bean straw and the mixed substrates produced similar C:N ratios of between 33.70 – 53.48. The substrates with the least C:N ratio gave the highest yield of mushrooms more especially in the sole coir and in the mixed substrates. Composting period did not affect the rate of mycelia formation, however, it affected the yield of the mushrooms. Substrates composted for longer periods in the sole coir gave the highest yield while the substrate composted for just a day in the mixed substrates produced the highest yield with the highest profit margin. The mixed substrates gave the greatest biological efficiencies ranging between 11.0 to 22.90 % as well as the highest returns. The results indicated that the effectiveness of substrates to produce higher returns depends on the initial C:N ratio of the substrates. As a result, substrates with high C:N ratio need longer periods of composting, while substrates with initial C:N ratio equal or below 55 do not need any composting
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A thesis submitted to the Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of the degree of Master of Science in Biotechnology,
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