Comparing the Growth Rate of Four Pleurotus Fungi on Wheat Stubble and Date Palm Leaf

In a 4×3 factorial completely randomized experiment, four Pleurotus strains including P. florida, P. ostreatus A., P. ostreatus M and P. ostreatus T, were cultured on wheat stubble (WS), date palm leaf (DPL) and potato dextrose agar (PDA) as well. Growth rate of the mycelium was measured for two weeks of incubation. At the first week of incubation, growth rate of P. ostreatus A. and P. ostreatusM. were higher (P<0.05) than P. florida and P. ostreatus T., whereas it was inverse during the second week of incubation. An interaction effect (P<0.05) was found between strains with substrates. During the first week of incubation, the highest amount of mycelial running rate was shown by P. ostreatus A and P. ostreatus T on PDA followed by P. florida. In addition, P. ostreatus A and P. ostreatus T had significantly (p<0.05) more growth rate on DPL than WS. However, the final cumulative growth rate was not statistically different among the strains or the substrates. The dry mater (DM) and organic matter (OM) losses were different (P<0.05) between the substrates but no significant variation was shown among the strains. The crude protein (CP) was increased in the biomass obtained from fungal treatment but it was significantly (p<0.05) different among the strains on the different substrates. In conclusion, P. ostreatus A. and P. ostreatus T. showed a substantial mycelium running ability in wheat straw and date palm leaf to producing higher crude protein.