Production of Pleurotus ostreatus cultivated in substrates made from two invasive weeds

Abstract

The species Pleurotus ostreatus is an edible mushroom with a high commercial value, cultivated for its ease and adaptability in substrates based on agro-industrial waste. The plant species Solanum elaeagnifolium and Salsola kali are two invasive weeds that spread rapidly in crops, ruderal or urban areas, representing high-cost agricultural losses and environmental impact. The hypothesis of this research was that at least one of the weeds would increase the production and quality of P. ostreatus. The objective was to evaluate the biological efficiency and carpophore productivity ofP. ostreatus with the use of substrates elaborated and combined from S. elaeagnifolim and S. kali. The fungal cultures were carried out with substrates generated from mixtures of weeds and using wheat straw as a control; from these combinations, seven treatments and four replicates were obtained in a completely randomized design. The carpophores obtained were measured for the width and length of the pileus and stipe, total production (g), biological efficiency (%), and proximate analysis of the harvested mushrooms was performed. Maximum production was 23.30 mushrooms, with minimum of 3.67 carpophores. The width and length of the pileus were 8.30-11.70 cm and 8.40-11.40 cm, respectively. The stipe length variable showed widths of 1.40-2.30 cm and lengths of 2.80-6.20 cm. The weights obtained were up to 358.33 g, with a minimum of 95.10 g. Proximate analysis showed carpophores with the following composition: 82.25-91.37 % moisture; 1.71 to 13.66 % ash; 15.70 to 20.93 % protein; 0.40 to 1.55 % lipids and 8.60-17.7 % dry matter. The variables evaluated showed differences (p ≤ 0.05), being the substrates made with 100 % S. elaeagnifolium the ones with the highest biological efficiency, carpophore production, harvest weight and nutritional value. The species P. ostreatus proved to be efficient in providing substrate for two weeds, as well as producing carpophores with high protein content.