Comparative Study of the Influence of Straws of Imperata cylindrica and Andropogon gayanus on the Fruiting of Pleurotus abalonus in Benin

Pleurotus abalonus is an edible mushroom of interest for its nutritional and medicinal properties. Its commercial production has developed in tropical countries using local materials. The objective of the work is to contribute to the establishment of mycicultural practices likely to increase the productivity of oyster mushrooms using locally available materials. In the present study, the cultivation of P. abalonus is tested on two types of fruiting substrates: straws of Imperata cylindrica and Andropogon gayanus. The harvested straws were cut and pasteurised at boiling point for 60 minutes, then drained for 4 hours before being inoculated with the mother culture. The bags, filled with 1 kg of substrate, were incubated in a mushroom farm for 4 weeks. The best results in terms of weight, pileus diameter and average number of carpophores were obtained on A. gayanus straws compared to I. cylindrica straws. The highest average carpophore yield (6.56%) by fresh weight was obtained with P. abalonus on A. gayanus straw. For I. cylindrica straws, the average yield is close to 1%. Indeed, A. gayanus straws produced an average amount of 32.8 g of fresh carpophores from 500 g of substrate in dry mass against 4.6 g for I. cylindrica dry. The results show that production is better on A. gayanus straws compared to I. cylindrica straws.