Abstract:
Oyster mushroom is generally cultivated on sawdust and paddy straw substrates Due to
the decreasing supply of sawdust and other substrates there is an urgent need to identify
alternative substrates. In this context, this experiment was planned to investigate the
suitability of tea waste as an alternative substrate for oyster mushroom cultivation. Tea
waste is the residue that remains after leaves have been extracted by hot water to obtain
water-soluble components.
The study was conducted at mushroom producer hut in Bogahamadiththa, Badulla. The
experimental design was a Complete Randomized Design. Five different substrates were
prepared by mixing different percentages of sawdust and tea waste. There were four
replicates in each treatment the general procedure was followed and spawn running rate
and mushroom media mixture analysis were measured. The qualitative analysis was
done and statistical analysis was done and statistical analysis of mean values and its
comparison was done using Minitab by Turkey's pairwise comparison test.
The spawn running rate of oyster mushroom mycelium was evaluated on different
percentage containing tea waste substrates. Insufficient moisture levels, inappropriate
nitrogen content and antifungal substance (tannin) found in the tea waste inhabit the
spawn running in the substrate containing 80% of tea waste. The positive results were
obtained substrate mixture containing different proportions of tea waste and sawdust.
The substrates containing 20% tea waste and 60% sawdust showed promising results in
terms of mycelium running even though the substrate mixture containing 80% sawdust
showed the best performance among other treatments. There was no mycelium running
in the substrate containing 80% of tea waste.
