Abstract:
Ganoderma lucidum (Reishi mushroom) is a
medicinal mushroom which possesses
numerous health benefits. With a view to
popularize the cultivation of G. lucidum in Sri
Lanka, a study was done to identify an
appropriate substrate from local raw materials
for its artificial cultivation in polypropylene
bags. Sawdust of four woods viz. Rubber
(Hevea brasiliensis), Mango (Mangifera
indica), Jack (Artocarpus heterophyllus) and
Lunumidella (Melia dubia) were used as
substrates after mixing with other general
ingredients. The mushroom was grown in
100% Rubber, 100% Mango, 100% Jack,
100% Lunumidella, 50% Rubber + 50%
Mango, 50% Rubber + 50% Jack, and 50%
Rubber + 50% Lunumidella sawdust
combinations. The number of days taken for
colonization and primordial formation,
number of fruiting bodies per bag, yield per
bag and Biological Efficiency (BE) were
recorded. Substrates with Mango (100%),
Rubber (100%), Rubber + Mango (50%:50%)
and Rubber + Lunumidella (50%:50%)
sawdust resulted in equally high yield per bag
(49.3 g, 42.5 g, 45.7 g and 43.7 g, respectively)
within 1 month after primordia formation, and
higher BE of 5.4%, 5.1%, 5.3% and 5.7%, respectively. Higher predicted total yields for a
duration of 3 months were resulted by 100%
Mango sawdust (541.91 g/bag), Rubber +
Mango sawdust (502.37 g/bag), and Rubber +
Lunumidella sawdust (480.92 g/bag), followed
by Rubber (467.39 g/bag) substrates while the
minimum yield (289.08 g/bag) was given by
Rubber + Jack sawdust mixture. Considering
the scarcity of rubber and mango wood as a
sole source for substrate, the mixture of rubber
and mango (50%:50%) or rubber and
Lunumidella (50%:50%) could be successfully
used for cultivation of G. lucidum.
