You have no items in your shopping cart.
ABSTRACT
The effect of grain broth on two edible mushrooms, Volvariella volvaceae and Pleurotus ostreatus were investigated. Five different grains – Oryza sativa, Zea Mays, Triticum aestivum, Pennisetum glaucum and Sorghum bicolor were used to conduct this study. The grains were prepared according to standard method. A 5mm block agar was used to inoculate the media. The results revealed that the mushrooms were able to grow on these grain substrates at different rates. The mycelium growth extension for V. volvaceae was highest for corn (85.6 0.52) and least for wheat (85.1±0.64). For P. ostreatus, the mycelial growth extension was highest for rice (85.5±0.00) and least for millet ((85.5±0.00). The growth rate of V. volvaceae was highest for guinea corn (14.50mm/day), followed by rice (13.90mm/day) and next, corn (13.42mm/day). PDA, millet and wheat had the lowest growth rates of 12.36mm/day, 11.98mm/day and 11.64mm/day respectively. P. ostreatus had the highest growth rate in corn (9.14mm/day), followed by millet (8.96mm/day), guinea corn (8.93mm/day), rice (8.03mm/day), PDA (8.00mm/day) and again wheat had the lowest growth rate (7.56mm/day). Corn was the densest substrate and wheat was the least dense substrate in both mushrooms. The morphology of the mushrooms varied from fluffy, to appressed, to cottony depending on the grain broth used. The biomass of V. volvaceae was highest for corn (0.2738±0.01) and least for wheat (13.08±0.01) while that of P. ostreatus was highest for corn (0.3049±0.15) and least for wheat (0.1091±0.01). This work has shown that the substrates used are good materials for the cultivation of these mushrooms at laboratory level and the results has further supported the claims from researches that both mushrooms can grow in grain broth media. The conclusions of this experiments highlight the need for further research on the use of different grain broth substrates for growing these mushrooms, considering the specific needs of different species and the local environment.
