Influence of relative humidity and temperature on cultivation of pleurotus species

Abstract

Fungi exhibit different behavior under different conditions and react to light, temperature, moisture content etc. The objective of this study was to evaluate the degradation capability of three common white rot fungi, namely: Pleurotus ostreatus, P. pulmonarius, and Lentinus sajor-caju. The respective fungi were cultivated on rice straw under three different environmental conditions for 90 days. The fungi were collected, pure cultured, DNA extracted, and sequenced by ITS regions. The highest consumption of substrate occurred under the Cellar (dark) exposure condition with P. pulmonarius producing the least mass loss. The least amount of degradation occurred under the Air (daylight) condition for all of the fungi with the exception of P. pulmonarius. Exposure to light promoted the formation of fruiting bodies.

Keywords

• Lentinus sajor-caju
• mushroom cultivation
• Pleurotus ostreatus
• P. pulmonarius
• wood fungi