EVALUATION OF GROWTH YIELD OF MUSHROOM GROWN ON RICE WASTE

ABSTRACT One of the pertinent alternatives for the reuse of wastes from agriculture has been to use them as raw material for the cultivation of mushrooms of the genus Pleurotus for human consumption. The aim of this study is to evaluate the growth yield of mushrooms cultivated on rice waste. Samples of rice husk, rice straw, rice chaff and oyster mushroom were collected from different location within metropolis Bauchi. The samples were collected aseptically using sterile containers and transported to the laboratory. The results of this study show that Rice wastes such as (RS) Rice straw, (RH) Rice husk, (RC) Rice chaff can serve as effective substrates for the cultivation of Pleurotus ostreatus. Among the three treatments, the substrate RS (Rice straw) demonstrated the best performance in most parameters, followed closely by RH T2 (Rice Husk) while T3 RC (Rice Chaff) has a low yield, the substrate colonized and took a very long period to growth. T3 (Rice Chaff) had the longest spawn running time (35.09 days), while T2 Rice husk recorded the highest yield duration (42.56 days). T1 (Rice straw) had the shortest spawn running time (29.71 days), which is consistent with the findings of Shah et al. (2024), who reported that lignin-rich substrates such as corn cob can delay spawn running due to their dense fibrous structure. The biological efficiency, a key indicator of productivity, was highest in T1 (Rice straw – 243.33) and T2 (Rice Husk – 160.00), demonstrating the potential of these substrates for profitable mushroom production. Conversely, T3 (Rice chaff) had the lowest BE (50.00), which may be attributed to its high fiber density and low digestibility, making it less suitable for fungal enzymatic breakdown. The Rice wastes such as rice straw and rice husk are both recommended for the cultivation of P. ostreatus.