Profit Alternative Material: The Manila Grass Ratio of Oyster Mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus) Cultivated Materials

Abstract

Oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus) is an economic mushroom that is consumed in every region of Thailand and around the world. It has a high nutritional value and several medicinal properties. The cultivation is not difficult and gives a good return. Farmers prefer to use Para rubber sawdust as the main cultivated material, which is now more expensive. For this reason, we were studied alternative materials that reduced material costs and increased mushroom yields by using Para rubber sawdust mixed with Manila grass which leftover and locally available, 4 ratios of 9 repetitions as 100:0 (control), 75:25, 50:50 and 25:75 percent, Each ratio was mixed with rice bran, gypsum, lime and magnesium sulfate 6, 2, 1 and 0.2 kg/100 kg of main cultivated material, respectively.   The cultivated material 700 g/block. After harvesting of 3 flushs, found that the 75:25 ratio of the Para rubber sawdust and Manila grass promoted the highest flush weight and the biological efficiency average were 48.5 g and 31.6 percent/block/flush, respectively. The average of fruiting bodies number with pileus width of 3 cm or more was 4.6 fruiting body/block/flush, less than the ratio of 25:75, but the fruiting bodies were larger and more complete. The ratio of 75:25 promoted higher mushroom weight, number of fruiting bodies and biological efficacy than the control were 5.0, 12.2 and 51.2 percent, respectively.  If this research result is applied to a small mushroom farm, with 4,000 blocks, the profit from the sale of mushroom yields and blocks higher than the ratio of 100:0 amount of 8,120 baht or 16.1 percent/half crop; 3 of 6 flushs.  Therefore Manila grass is an interesting alternative material for reducing costs and increasing profitability of Oyster mushroom yields of farmers during the current crisis of household debt.