A Preliminary Study of Using Agricultural Wastes for Straw Mushroom Mycelium Production

Nowadays after crops are harvested, majority of farmers tend to burn their fields to get rid of agricultural waste which causes toxic air pollution to humans and environments. The objective of this research was to screen five agricultural wastes for their capability for mushroom mycelium cultivation. These five substrates consist of rice straw, corn husk, sugarcane baggage, rice husk and coffee ground. The straw mushroom was isolated from fresh basidiocarp into a pure culture, and it was used as an inoculum in this study. The mushroom mycelium was cultured on agar media containing each type of agricultural wastes and incubated at 25°C for 6 days. Colony diameters of the mushroom growing on the surface of the media were measured. The results show that the straw mushroom grew best on the medium containing rice straw and corn husk. Therefore, these two substrates were selected for further study on mushroom cultivation in a jar experiment. There were three treatments including (1) corn husk, (2) rice straw, and (3) a combination of rice straw and corn husk (ratio 1:1). The jars were incubated at 25°C for 8 weeks. The density of mushroom mycelia was observed and recorded. The results show that the straw mushroom did not grow on corn husk, but it grew well on rice straw. In the meantime, this mushroom grew best on a combination of rice straw and corn husk. In conclusion, corn husk has potential to be used as an alternative material for mushroom cultivation and it should be used in combination with rice straw.