Abstract
Mushroom cultivation is an economically feasible bio-technological process for conversion of various lignocellulosic wastes. The aim of this study was to evaluate the suitability of waste paper supplemented with corn stalk and wheat bran for oyster mushroom cultivation. Pure culture of Oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus (Jacq.: Fr.) Kummer) was purchased from YB Plant Micropropagation Plc; Mekelle, Ethiopia. Then, the pure culture was used as inoculum for spawn preparation using sorghum prepared in Microbiology laboratory, Department of Biology, Aksum University. Waste paper supplemented with corn stalk and wheat bran with 0%, 25% and 50% were prepared. The substrates were mixed with the spawn that has been inoculated with pure culture of oyster mushroom aseptically for their productivity and biological efficiency (BE) for cultivation of P. ostreatus mushroom. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20. Higher (26.20 ± 19.36) mean weight, pileus diameter (7.90 ± 2.66 cm), total yield (646.4 ± 273.1 g) and BE (64.64 ± 273%) were obtained from waste paper (50%) supplemented with cornstalk (25%) and wheat bran (25%). And lower (17.92 ± 81.95%) BE were obtained from waste paper (100%). Moreover, the highest (3.88 ± 0.32 cm) mean stalk length was obtained from waste paper (50%) supplemented with corn stalk (50%). This study revealed that waste paper supplemented with corn stalk and wheat bran resulted in high BE and total yield. Thus, utilization of waste paper appears to be a promising alternative for the cultivation of oyster mushroom when supplemented with other substrates.