Evaluation of Pleurotus Species (P. ostreatus and P. eryngii) Fruiting Potential within the Dry and Rainy Seasons

Studies on two species of Pleurotus (P. ostreatus and P. eryngii) fruiting potentials within the dry and rainy seasons were carried out in the Department of Plant Science and Biotechnology, Rivers State University. Both species (P. ostreatus; P1 and P. eryngii; P2) were grown on hard wood (HW) and soft wood (SW) sawdusts from Mitragyna tree and Xylopia tree at 600g during the dry (D) and rainy (R) seasons. The sawdusts were supplemented with 100g of rice bran and 1g of Rhizophora wood ash. Eight treatments were established based on the interactions of the species to the substrates and seasons viz: P1SWR, P1HWR, P2SWR, P2HWR, P1SWD, P1HWD, P2SWD and P2HWD. Fruiting potential was assessed based on the mean harvest weight and was done for five weeks. P1HWD recorded highest mean weight (33.11g) during the dry season while P1HWR had highest mean weight (33.54g) for week1 harvest. P2 recorded no harvest at the first week. Highest mean weight of 21.72g and 24.61g were observed for P2SWD and P1SWR respectively for the second week of harvest. Week 3 harvest revealed P1SWD and P2SWR with the highest mean weights (14.05g and 23.07g) respectively. Within the fourth week of harvest, P2SWD (5.34g) and P2HWR (17.36g) recorded highest mean weights compared to other treatments. At the fifth week of harvest, highest mean values (10.67g and 17.04g) were seen for P2SWD and P2HWR respectively. Generally, P1 had more fruiting potential than P2 as its treatments fruited in all the weeks of harvest. Soft wood sawdust during the rainy season favoured higher yield than hardwood sawdust during the dry season.