Mineral Uptake by First Flush Mushrooms (Pleurotus spp.) Cultivated on Various Agro-Processing Waste

摘要

The use of agro-processing waste as raw materials for mushroom production was investigated to define a strategy for bioconverting these wastes into edible basidiomata and, hence, retrieve some of the lost nutrients. Sampled wastes (corn cobs and maizebran, cocoa husk and shells, oil palm fiber, empty bunch and kernel cake, spent malt, pito mash, yam, cassava, cocoyam, potato and plantain peelings, rice husk and bran) from both industrial and traditional agro-processors were characterized chemicallyand formulated into media. In all, 10 formulations were derived.Two species of P/eurotus—P. ostreatus (strain EM_1) and P. ecus (strain OT_3)—were used for substrate evaluation. During this cultivation process the ability or lack of these species to take up minerals (Ca, Cu, Fe, Mg, Mn, P, K, and Na) from the formulated media was investigated.