Oyster Mushroom Spawn Production Technique

Oyster mushrooms are rich in nutrients and have various therapeutic properties. In this work, grains of millet (Pennisetum americanum) were used to produce spawn of four oyster mushroom species, including Pleurotus ostreatus (grey strain), P. ostreatus (white strain), P. cornucopiae var. citrinopileatus (yellow strain), and P. salmoneostramineus (pink strain). Serial mycological work requires a reliable source of cultures. The time of spawn production is essential for economic sides. The superiority of P. ostreatus (white and grey) in the production duration of its spawn is significant (p<0.05) after 8 days. P. salmoneostramineus and P. cornucopiae have relatively long production times, approximately 10 and 11 days for spawn production, respectively. Finally, this work presents a modified procedure for producing oyster mushroom spawn easily and inexpensively for local mushroom farms.