Matchwood (Ailanthus exelsa) Saw dust as an alternative substrate for oyster mushroom (Pleurotus florida) cultivation

Oyster mushroom (Pleurotus spp.) accounts for 14 per cent of the total world production of edible mushroom. In Kerala, paddy straw is the most common substrate used for the production but since availability of good quality straw has become a limitation, farmers were forced to shift to new substrates. Rubber saw dust has been proved to be an alternative substrate but not commonly available. Hence an effort was made to assess the suitability of match wood (Ailanthus exelsa) saw dust which is commonly available in Alappuzha district as a substrate for production of oyster mushroom. For this, an On Farm Testing (OFT) was conducted in five mushroom units in Chengannur block of Alappuzha district. It could be observed that the spawn running period, days to harvest and interval between flushes were almost same in match wood saw dust medium compared to that in rubber saw dust but better compared to that of paddy straw. The yield obtained per bed was 1.07 kg compared to 1.02 kg from rubber saw dust for a crop duration of about 120d whereas the beds with paddy straw yielded 0.69 kg for a duration of 60d. The study indicated that match wood saw dust can be used as an alternative substrate for mushroom production as it is cheaper and yielded at par with rubber saw dust. The BC ratio also was found to be favourable compared to the other substrates.