Effect of different agro-wastes, casing materials and supplements on the growth, yield and nutrition of milky mushroom (Calocybe indica)

Agricultural waste disposal is one of the main concerns in today's world that can cause environmental pollution. Utilisation of agro-waste materials to grow mushrooms is an eco-friendly method to reduce pollution. Therefore, various agricultural waste materials, such as wheat straw, rice straw and cotton waste, were utilised for the production of milky mushroom. Among the substrates used in this study wheat straw showed superior substrate for the production of milky mushroom. The agronomic traits studied such as total yield, number of fruiting bodies, the maximum diameter of pileus and stalk length, biological efficiency, protein contents, phosphorous and potassium contents were observed on wheat straw substrate. Peat moss, loam soil and spent mushroom substrate were used as casing materials. Among the casing materials used, the highest yield and biological efficiency were observed on peat moss. The results also indicated that the addition of supplements with the substrate improved yield and yield contributing characteristics. Among the tested supplements (wheat bran and rice bran), wheat bran was the best supplement for wheat straw substrate to cultivate milky white mushroom.