Abstract:
This study was conducted at Bolinao, Pangasinan from January to April 2016 to assess the performance of three oyster mushroom species under Pangasinan condition and to determine which of the three had the highest yield obtained and the gross sales derived from growing the species. A separate setup was established at BSU Mushroom Project, La Trinidad, Benguet to serve as basis for comparison.
At La Trinidad, the incubation period of the three species varied. Among the species, Pleurotus sp. pink had the longest incubation period of 33 days and initiated fruiting within 38 days in La Trinidad and 33 days in Bolinao. P. ostreatus and P. florida were the fastest to mature at 31 and 28 days, respectively and initiated fruiting in the 35th days and 32nd days, respectively in La Trinidad as compared to 37th and 34th days, respectively in Bolinao. As observed, the interval between flushes varied depending on the temperature on the locality where the mushrooms were grown even with the same species. Pleurotus sp. pink had the longest interval of 4.33 days in La Trinidad while P. florida and P. ostreatus which did not differ significantly with each other had 2.467 and 2.533 days, repectively. On the other hand in Bolinao, all species had statiscally equal interval between flushes of 3.733, 3.933, and 4.467 days, respectively from Pleurotus sp. pink, P. florida, and P. ostreatus respectively.
In terms of yield, the higher yielders were P. ostreatus with 3.236 kg at La Trinidad and 2.138 kg at Bolinao, and P. florida at 3.198 kg in La Trinidad and 2.061 kg in Bolinao. The lowest yield of 0.478 kg was obtained at Bolinao from Pleurotus sp. pink and 1.704 from La Trinidad. The same trends were shown in the gross sales. Therefore, growing an appropriate strain of Pleurotus species within its preferred temperature is best to avoid losses. It is highly recommended that P. florida and P. ostreatus will be grown in lower temperature to obtain maximum yield which results at La Trinidad at which can be attained at Bolinao in the cooler months of October to February. Further, evaluation of the Pleurotus sp. pink is needed to determine the best time yield.
