Effect of different agricultural substrate on growth parameter of Macrocybe gigantea mushroom

Eight different agricultural substrates (arecanut leaves and sheath, Coconut leaves, Soybean straw, Sugarcane trash, Sugarcane bagasse, Banana pseudo-stem, Paddy straw, and Wheat straw) were evaluated for their effects on growth performance (days required for spawn run, case run, pinhead initiation, fruiting, and harvest) and morphological characters (pileus diameter, stipe length, and stipe girth.) of Macrocybe gigantea with cocopeat and soil (80:20) as casing material during December 2024. The results showed that soybean straw and paddy straw reported minimum days for spawn run (16 and 16.33 days, respectively), case run (5.33 and 6.99 days, respectively) and total days for fruiting (39.52 and 44.09 days, respectively). Whereas arecanut leaves and sheath reported maximum days for spawn run (28.33 days) and fruiting (86.33 days) with regards to morphological characters, banana pseudo stem yielded the best result with maximum stipe length of 11.60 cm, 6.65 cm of stipe girth and substantial pileus diameter of 5.82 cm. although arecanut leaves and sheath yielded largest pilus diameter of 6.65 cm, due to its larger cultivation duration, it is less efficient. Sugarcane bagasse is least efficient in all aspects. Thus, soybean straw and paddy straw are recommended for faster cultivation and harvesting, while Banana pseudo stem is ideal for better morphological traits of Macrocybe gigantea.