Abstract Background: Sustainable mushroom cultivation requires identifying cost-effective, locally available substrates. In tropical regions, agricultural and environmental waste grass species represent underutilized lignocellulosic resources for Pleurotus cultivation. Objective: This study compared the cultivation performance of Pleurotus ostreatus var. florida on three abundant tropical grass substrates: lawn grass (Eleusine indica), vetiver grass (Chrysopogon zizanioides), and Siam weed (Chromolaena odorata). Methods: Substrates were prepared using standardized pasteurization protocols (80°C, 2 hours) and inoculated with millet grain spawn at 5% (w/w). The experiment employed a completely randomized design with 6-7 replicates per treatment (n=19). Mushrooms were harvested over two flushes, and yield parameters were recorded. Results: Eleusine indica demonstrated superior performance, producing 104 total fruit bodies (183.9 g) across seven replicates, compared to C. zizanioides (75 fruit bodies, 163.0 g; n=6) and C. odorata (31 fruit bodies, 58.9 g; n=6). Mean fruit body production per replicate was highest in E. indica(12.3 ± 0.8 days) than C. odorata (16.5 ± 1.5 days). Contamination occurred in 16.7% of C. odorata replicates but not in grass substrates. Conclusions: Eleusine indica (lawn grass) represents an optimal, readily available substrate for small-scale oyster mushroom cultivation in tropical environments, offering superior yield, faster colonization, and lower contamination risk compared to vetiver grass and Siam weed. Updated professional extensions using blended agro-wastes achieved 116.9% biological efficiency and 30.7% crude protein, highlighting scalability for food security.
Kingsley Eñeogwe (Sun,) studied this question.