Evaluation of lignocellulosic wastes for the cultivation of Pleurotus pulmonarius (fr.) Quél.

In this study; the possibility of using lignocellulosic wastes in the culture of P. pulmonarius was investigated. Potato dextrose agar was used for the propagation of the main culture and barley grains were used for spawn production. For the production of bazidiocarp, Trifolium repens L. (TR), wheat straw (WS) and paper wastes (PW) were used as compost medium. Three types of compost were prepared: a mixture of TR-WS (1:1), TR-PW (1:1) and TR. The mycelium growing period was 8.6-11.4 d, primordia initiation days was 19.0-23.4 d, first harvest days was 23.4-27.2 d, total harvest period was 59.8-64.8 d and total yield was 33.8-41.8 g per 100 g of material (70% moisture). Based on the results obtained, it was observed that the average yield of 41.8% was obtained by using 1:1 ratio of mixture of TR-WS. As a result, it was determined that a culture period of maximum 2 months was sufficient for the cultivation of P. pulmonarius, and 4 harvest stages were considered reasonable during these periods. In the case of that the cultivation conditions (temperature, day-night period, ventilation, irrigation, etc.) are kept homogeneous in the incubation room, producers will be able to gain abundant gains in a short time.