Abstract:
The present study entitled "Utilization of fungi for composting and
mushroom production on coirpith" was conducted during 2001 to 2003 at
College of Agriculture, Vellayani, Thiruvananthapuram district with the
objective to isolate most efficient fungi for degradation of coirpith and
standardization of technology for mushroom production on coirpith.
Four lignocellulolytic fungi viz., Aspergillus niger, A. ochraceous,
Trichoderma harzianum and Rhizopus stolonifer were isolated from retted
coirpith. Three mushrooms viz., Pycnoporus sanguine us, Ganoderma
applanatum and Pleurotus tuber-regium collected during surveys
conducted in different parts of Thiruvananthapuram district, and Lentinus
edodes, Pleurotus florida and Calocybe indica were procured from TNAU
and College of Agriculture, Vellayani.
P. tuber-regium, a mushroom collected during the study is a new
report from India. This edible mushroom has a biological efficiency of 46
per cent and is ideally suited for cultivation in Kerala.
T. harzianum was the fastest colonizer on retted coirpith followed by
G. applanatum and L. edodes. The maximum reduction of organic carbon,
C:N ratio, cellulose and lignin and the maximum increase of nitrogen
content in retted coirpith was recorded when it was degraded by
T. harzianum,
Among the different substrates used for mushroom production, the
maximum yield of P. florida was realized in a substrate containing 1: 1
combination of retted coirpith and spent mushroom substrate while the
maximum yield of C. indica was observed in a substrate containing 1:3
combination of non-retted coirpith and paddy straw.
, Composted coirpith was found to be unsuitable as a substrate for
large scale cultivation of oyster and milky mushrooms.
