Abstract:
Schizophyllum commune (Fries) is a naturally occurring wild edible mushroom valued for its high nutritional
composition and unique taste. The domesticating and commercial cultivation opportunities of this mushroom have
been left unexploited. An effort was made to domesticate and to develop technologies for artificial cultivation of this
valued mushroom so that, it can be grown throughout the year. Effects of different bag sizes, composition (different
types of saw dust media and saw dust: straw mixtures), compactness of the substrate and opening surface for cropping,
on yield performances were studied. Results revealed that 5. commune can be successfully cultivated under artificial
conditions. Better mushroom yield was recorded in polypropylene bags (13") filled with 1.20-1.24 kg composts. Bag
size below (13") influenced negatively on yield of mushroom grown in saw dust medium. Increasing opening surface of
the bag had no effect on the mushroom yield. Mango as the saw dust substrate gave a significantly high yield (75%
increases) as compared to the rubber saw dust which gave the lowest yield. Paddy straw and saw dust at different
ratios, gave varying mushroom yields. This investigation showed that S. commune could be grown commercial scale
under farmer's condition.
