Effects Of Effective Microorganisms On The Spawn Production Of Pleurotus Ostreatus And Lentinus Edodes Mushrooms

Background:White rot fungus,which causes white rot on wood or trees,belongs to the basidiomycete’s phylum.The mycelia of these organisms can penetrate the cell cavity and release lignin-lytic enzymes to decompose xylon to a white spongelike mass.However,over the years there has been an increase in demand for the cultivation of the production of these mushrooms.This increase resulted in high rates of deforestation in forests that raised environmental and ecological concerns due to rapid distractions of forests with little rehabilitation.As a respond to the problem scientists came up with ways to produce white-rot mushroom domestically by use of agricultural by-products such as maize stalks and cobs,sugarcane bagasse,sawdust and cotton husks.The domestication of the production of the white-rot macro-fungi has done exceptionally well although it came with its disadvantages due to disruption of the natural equilibrium of the ecosystems.The cons of this genius discovery are contamination of lignocellulotic substrate and out-competition of the required mushroom mycelium by pathogenic microbes.As a result,sterilization of the substrates by autoclaving or steam sterilization has been employed,unfortunately,this does not guarantee complete eradication of contamination and to date contamination by pathogens and pests is still the major cause of economic loss to mushroom farmers throughout the world.Methods:Three different substrates formulas;Juncao grass(1),sawdust(2)and sugarcane bagasse(3)were subjected to four different concentrations of Effective microorganisms(treatments)and the control that contained no EM.To determine the effect pathogens have on the mycelium production,infected spawn bags from mushroom farms around Fujian province were collected and analyzed.Economic analysis was made;mycelia growth and yield of harvested mushroom were the parameters studied in the present study.Analyses pertaining to nutritional values were made at the beginning of mycelium run and on spent mushroom substrate of treatment 1.They also show significant differences(p<0.05)between the yields of treatments.However,Formula 1(Juncao Formula)had the slowest mycelium run with EM treatment.Results and Conclusion:The results of the treatments,the concentration of the EM to have been highest at 100%and lowest at 0%.The nutritional analysis of the the Pleurotus mushroom reveal that the control treatment(0%EM)had the highest value of Crude protein,Crude fiber and Crude polysaccharides than the rest of the treatments.The findings reveal that it is of vital importance that all substrates to be utilized for the growth of spawn for mushroom production should be steam sterilized(autoclaved)to reduce contamination as this has shown to significantly reduce the contamination.However,the results of the mycelium running test show that the EM treated substrates on all the formulas to have a higher mycelium running rate in the sawdust and sugarcane formulas,whereas in the Juncao formula the difference is insignificant.Significance:The purpose of the current study is to determine the effect Effective microorganisms(EM)on the production of the spawn of Pleurotus and Lentinula mushrooms with hopes of reducing or complete elimination of contamination of stages of mushrooms by incorporation of effective microorganisms.Secondly,to determine whether there is a decrease in the required amount of time it takes for mycelium to complete the running process.