EFFECT OF ORGANIC SUPPLEMENT ON OYSTER MUSHROOM SPAWN PRODUCTION

The cultivation of mushrooms is a biotechnological intervention for the conversion of various lignocellulose agro-wastes into proteins. Jharkhand and its neighbourhood are potential area for oyster mushroom production due to its favourable agro-climate, plenty of agro-wastes and Hypsizygus ulmarius good awareness and liking for mushroom consumption. They also provide other much needed nutrients like Essential Amino Acids (EAA), minerals and vitamins and keep us fit and healthy. Oyster mushroom cultivation in India is very popular among the farmers due to its simple growing technique and the availability of its good number of species adapted to wide range of temperature - from tropical to temperate. Pleurotus florida exhibits adaptability to perform well in sub-tropical areas and hence it is more popular in Chotanagpur Plateau in general and Ranchi District in particular. In the current study, therefore, P. florida was selected as a test species. Experiments on the species of Oyster mushroom were designed with the sole objective to reduce the input-cost of their cultivation by promoting the use of cheaper recycled agro-wastes like vermi-compost for spawn media preparation. The study concluded that supplemented spawn medium like Wheat (50%) + Vermi Compost (50%) and Wheat (75%) + Vermi Compost (25%) gave better result as well as its performance is at par with 100% wheat for the spawn production of P. florida and. So this can be recommended to spawn production laboratories for the use of this methodology for reducing the cost of spawn production. Vermi-compost, which is a waste-recycled material, has been identified as a potential substitute for cereal grains. Their replacement (partial or total) with Vermi-compost has opened the doors to make mushroom farming a complete recycling process, and also to achieve organic farming of mushrooms a reality sooner than later. Therefore, more such studies on other edible domesticated mushroom species need to be made in future.