Commercial Cultivation of the Elm Oyster Mushroom Hypsizygus ulmarius (Agricomycetes) on Different Substrates and Its Medicinal Benefits

Abstract

Hypsizygus ulmarius is gaining popularity because of high yield, quality parameters, therapeutic values and medically it may be considered as good source of mycochemicals that can be utilized in pharmaceutical medicines and food additives. Cultivation technology to grow H. ulmarius from its culture to harvest was studied using locally available substrates and materials. Studies on commercial cultivation of H. ulmarius revealed that wheat straw substrate supplemented with 10.0% cotton seed hull spawned with bajra grain spawn @ 5.0% gave highest yield (8994.00 g/4 kg substrate) and biological efficiency (244.97%). While the lowest yield (6538.00 g/4 kg substrate) and biological efficiency (163.30%) was recorded in wheat straw alone where no supplement was added. The pH of all the substrates used in mushroom production was found to decrease while EC was recorded to increase in the substrates with the progression of crop duration.