Abstract
The cultivation of Pleurotus osteratus was examined by using four test substrates; rice hull, vermiculite, cellulose acetate and newspaper, with or without Karamastu (Larix leptolepis) water extracts (KWE) as an additive to promote fruit body production. It was demonstrated that rice hull and news paper were more suitable as the substrates for Oyster mushroom cultivation than Cedar sawdust (control). Cellulose acetate was a good substrate which could be substituted with Cedar sawdust. However, the capability of vermiculite as the substrate for mushroom production was inferior to Cedar sawdust. The addition of KWE into all substrates tested may increase mycelial mass in cultivation. The effect of addition of KWE produced different promotion effect on various substrates tested. In particular, the addition of KWE into vermiculite and cellulose acetate media produced a high fruit body yield over that with Cedar sawdust.
