PRODUCTIVIDAD Y ANÁLISIS QUÍMICO PROXIMAL DE Pleurotus spp. CRECIDOS SOBRE BAGAZO DE Agave salmiana COMO SUSTRATO ALTERNATIVO

Agave salmiana (Maguey pulquero) bagasse is a by-product of the production of alcoholic beverages (mezcal and pulque), extraction of inulin or the honey-water mead, which can be used for the cultivation of edible fungi. With the hypothesis that the chemical characteristic of agave bagasse allows the growth of Pleurotus spp. without affecting nutritional value, the objective of this research was to estimate biological efficiency, productivity rate and to obtain the proximate chemical analysis of Pleurotus sp. and Pleurotus ostreatus grown on Agave salmiana bagasse as an alternative to the commercial substrate. For the study, Pleurotus sp. was collected from natural growth on A. salmiana and P. ostreatus from a commercial strain; agave bagasse was used for cultivation, and barley straw as the control. From the fruiting bodies obtained, the proximate chemical composition, biological efficiency and productive rate of both fungi were determined, as well as the proximate analysis of the agave bagasse before and after cultivation. Data were analysed with Student’s test with probability of error at p≤0.05 The fungus isolated from A. salmiana exhibited morphological characteristics typical of the Pleurotus genus. The agave bagasse presented 0.52% total nitrogen and 3.28% crude protein, and these values increased (0.59, 3.72%) after cultivation. In Pleurotus sp., the biological efficiency and productive rate was higher (p≤0.05) on maguey fibre (52.30%, 0.87% d-1); while P. ostreatus was more productive (59.69%, 0.99% d-1) on barley straw. The proximate chemical analysis of the fungi showed favourable values in regard to the reference values of the Pleurotus genus; the crude protein content of P. ostreatus was 18.19% and 24.04% in Pleurotus sp. The agave bagasse showed that it possesses chemical characteristics that satisfy and allow the development of the Pleurotus genus and it is suitable to be used as an alternative substrate.