Abstract
Commercial crop production and many other agro-industrial activities generate large amount of cellulose, hemicelluloses and lignin. This research is aimed at the utilization of some of these agro-wastes for the cultivation of Pleurotus ostreatus (Oyster Mushroom) in Keffi area. The agro-wastes (cassava peels (CP), banana leaves (BL), saw dust (SD), yam peels (YP) and groundnut shells (GS) were collected, sorted, shredded, sterilized and inoculated with equal proportions of Pleurotus ostreatus (P. osreatus) for a period of four weeks. Rate of mycelia growth, temperature, mycological identification, nutritional contents of P. osreatus harvested and microbial isolation from the spent mushroom substrates were analyzed. The numbers of days for complete ramification of the substrates by mycelia of P. osreatus were; 18 days for BL and GS, 24 days for CP and YP while 30 days for SD. The room temperature within the period of exposure for fruiting of the ramified substrates ranges between 22°C to 28°C in the morning, 23°C to 30°C in the afternoon and 25°C to 31°C in the evening throughout the period of exposure. The nutritional contents of the Pleurotus ostreatus from the different substrates analysed were, Moisture content was highest in SD (87.05%) and lest in GS (80.71%), Protein content was highest in GS (38.13%) and lowest in BL (16.43%), Lipid content was highest in GS (4.62%) and lest in CP (1.83%), Carbohydrate content was highest in CP (78.40%) and lest in GS (71.66%), Fibre content was highest in BL (9.10%) and lest in YP (8.20%) while Ash content was highest in GS (7.37%) and lest in YP (6.42%). Five bacteria species (Bacillus cereus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Micrococcus roseus, Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis) and two yeast species (Candida albicans and Candida tropicalis) were isolated from the spent mushroom substrates.
Highlights
The increasing expansion of agro-industrial activity has led to the accumulation of a large quantity of lignocellulosic residues all over the world
The mycelia ramification was comparatively more condensed and vigorous in Banana leaves and Groundnut shells substrates followed by Cassava peels and Yam peels substrates as compared to Sawdust
Banana leaves and Groundnut shells substrates were heavily colonized in a short time as indicated by their incubation time (Table 2) followed by Cassava peels and Yam peels substrates whereas hyphal growth on Sawdust was quite slow and less profuse than the other substrates which were in agreement with the findings reported by [42]
Summary
The increasing expansion of agro-industrial activity has led to the accumulation of a large quantity of lignocellulosic residues all over the world. Agricultural wastes disposal is of primary concern in today’s world as they are rich in nutrient and their disposal without pretreatment can cause leaching in field, resulting in environmental pollution. To overcome this problem, cultivation of P. ostreatus using these agricultural wastes is the most eco-friendly and economical method to reduce the level of nutrients in these wastes to an acceptable range to be used as manure [1]. Lignocellulosic materials are the most abundant agricultural residues in the world [2] and agricultural commodities play a major role in the gross domestic products of several economies worldwide [3]. The disposal of lignocellulosic residues has often been associated with environmental pollution as well as sanitary and ecological effects [4], but several lignocellulosic residues could be useful to obtain products of great economic, energetic or nutritional value [5].
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
