A Study of Mycelial Growth of Oyster Mushroom using 5 Agricultural Wastes

A Study of Mycelial Growth of Oyster Mushroom using 5 Agricultural Wastes

Kittipong Trakunjarunkit1, Thanutcha Posalee1, Duangkamol Limpanya 1 and Nattawut Rungjindamai1*

1 Department of Biology, School of Science, King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang (KMITL), Bangkok, 10520, Thailand

*Corresponding author: nattawut.ru@kmitl.ac.th

Agriculture plays an essential role for Thailand economy. Therefore, large amounts of agricultural waste are annually generated as by-products. They are usually discarded or burnt, resulting in harmful environmental pollution. The main goal of this research was to screen the use of 5 agricultural wastes including corn husk, rice straw, coconut meal, coconut husk and sugarcane bagasse for mushroom cultivation. To observe the mycelial growth on these 5 potential substrates, the two oyster mushroom candidates were cultured in jars containing these 5 different agricultural wastes, and the jars were incubated at 25°C for 6 weeks. The results show that both isolates grew best on coconut meal, producing very densely packed mycelia. Corn husk and rice straw were also good sources for oyster mushroom cultivation. This study shows that these three substrates should be selected for further study on a commercial scale.