Development of a rural oyster mushroom (Pleurotus spp.) industry in South Africa

Abstract

Suitable agar or liquid media can be prepared from wheat straw extract to grow and maintain Pleurotus (HK 35) in the absence ofMEA or PDA agar medium and YPG liquid medium. Wheat straw spawn and sorghum grain spawn dehydrated at 40°C for 7h can be used to inoculate substrates treated with hot water in cultivation of oyster mushrooms in rural areas. The inoculated substrate can be cultured in surface or underground thatched structures constructed from locally available materials. In forested areas, the substrate can even be incubated amongst trees during cool humid seasons. The best results during this investigation were obtained using dehydrated sorghum spawn in hot water treated grass straw substrate cultivated in a surface grass hut structure.