Abstract:
Fruitbodies of Pleurotus tuberregium are universally used as food while sclerotia are used in Nigeria as food condiment and in medicine. Seven different substrates supplemented with fermented sawdust were used to produce mushrooms and sclerotia of P. tuberregium. Mean dry weights of fruitbodies varied from 0.22 g for mixture of topsoil and fermented sawdust substrate to 3.34 g for mixture of river sand and fermented sawdust substrate, while percentage protein content ranged from 20.59% for fermented sawdust substrate to 25.19% for river sand substrate. The rate of substrate colonization had a significant effect on sclerotium production. The mean dry weight yields varied from 46.26 g for mixture of rice bran and fermented sawdust substrate to 127.48 g for fermented sawdust substrate alone. The highest sclerotial protein content (8.40%) was from mixture of rice bran and fermented sawdust substrate although it was not significantly different from those of other substrates. A mixture of river sand and fermented sawdust substrate is recommended as the best substrate for the production of P. tuberregium mushrooms while a mixture of corn waste and fermented sawdust substrate is recommended for sclerotial production.
