Abstract

Aim: The aim of the study was to investigate the morphological characteristics, Proximate and Vitamin composition of Pleurotus pulmonarius (Fries.) Quel and Hypsizygus ulmarius (Bull.) cultivated on rice (Oryza sativa) straw and groundnut (Arachis hypogeae) shell and their combinations as well as the comparism of the proximate and vitamin contents of both mushrooms were evaluated.

Materials and Methods: Pure mycelium culture of P. pulmonarius and H. ulmarius was aseptically multiplied using sorghum grains. Fully colonized spawn was used to inoculate the substrates which were incubated in the dark room of a mushroom house at 27± 2. Data were collected from fruit bodies harvested from the different substrates and their combinations. Data were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA). The morphological characteristics such as pileus diameter, stipe length, fruit body number and weight of the fruit bodies were measured.

Results: The highest mushroom fresh weight and dry weight of P. pulmonarius fruit bodies (139.3g and 11.67g) respectively was obtained from Rice straw 100% and that of H. ulmarius (122g and 8g) was obtained from substrate combination Rice Straw 50%+ Groundnut Shell 50%. The proximate analysis showed that the treatment Groundnut shell 100% on the both mushrooms P. pulmonarius and H. ulmarius had the highest contents of protein, fiber, crude fats and moisture. Although, the highest value of carbohydrate, ash content and dry matter was recorded from Rice straw 100% substrates for both mushrooms. Substrate mixtures recorded the highest energy contents for P. pulmonarius (280.39±0.36%) and H. ulmarius (271.31±0.12%). The vitamins assessed were Vitamins A, B₂, B₃, C, D and E. the substrates Groundnut shell 100% had the highest contents of these vitamins from both mushrooms..

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