Utilization of Agricultural Waste in the Reference of Oyster Mushroom Growth

This study investigates the biological efficiency, yield, and mycelium growth of Pleurotus ostreatus (oyster mushroom) cultivated on various agricultural waste substrates. The experiment aimed to evaluate the potential of different agricultural residues, including rice straw, wheat straw, corn stover, sugarcane bases, soybean stalk, and peanut shells, as viable substrates for mushroom production. The substrates were supplemented with wheat bran to enhance mycelium growth, and their performance was compared in terms of colonization time, growth rate, total yield, biological efficiency, and quality of the mushrooms produced. Rice straw was found to be the most effective substrate, with the highest growth rate (1.2 cm/day) and the fastest colonization time (14 days). This substrate also produced the highest total yield (450 g/bag) and biological efficiency (72.5%), suggesting that rice straw is an excellent choice for large-scale mushroom cultivation. In contrast, peanut shells showed the lowest colonization time (19 days), growth rate (0.7 cm/day), yield (300 g/bag), and biological efficiency (50%), indicating their sub optimal performance for oyster mushroom production.