Banana stalks and Bahia grass were utilized as basic starting materials for the production of the mushroom Pleurotus sajor-caju. Banana stalks were combined with other waste or supplement products (wheat bran, coast-cross hay, bean straw and cotton textile mill) to obtain different nitrogen concentrations. Since Bahia grass is relatively rich in protein, it was combined with other substrates (banana stalk, coast-cross hay and bean straw) to maintain a substrate nitrogen concentration of about 1.5%. Banana stalks and Bahia grass were both more efficient in the production of the mushroom P. sajor-caju when utilized without the addition of other substrates, with biological efficiencies of 74.4% and 74.12%, respectively. When combined with other substrates or grasses, there was a drop in biological efficiency, independent of the concentration of nitrogen. Furthermore, the addition of protein-rich waste to banana stalks resulted in a decrease or absence of fructification, which indicates that high concentrations of nitrogen in the cultivation substrate may hinder the cultivation of this mushroom. On the other hand, results reveal that the ideal concentration of nitrogen may depend on other physicochemical factors and these factors may determine the success in cultivating P. sajor-caju. Therefore, we conclude that P. sajor-caju may be cultivated on banana stalk and Bahia grass as pure substrates, not being necessary their supplementation or combine them with another substrates.
Mushroom cultivation; agro-industrial waste; axenic cultivation; nitrogen concentration
