Studies on the Occurrence, Ethnomycology and Cultivation of Pleurotus Tuber-Regium.
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Date
2009-07-13
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Abstract
Two hundred questionnaires were administered to people in ten selected villages in each of the Hohoe and Techiman Districts of the Volta and Brong Ahafo Regions respectively. Ten people from ten communities in each of the two districts answered the questionnaires. 52% of the respondents from the Volta Region were females with majority (30.7%) in the age group of 61-70 years while 70% of the respondents from the Brong Ahafo Region were females with majority (28.6%) in the age group of 41-50 years. Results from the questionnaires showed that the middle aged had more knowledge of Pleurotus tuber-regium than those from the other age groups. Respondents said ailments such as asthma, underweight in babies, boils, etc. are cured using the sclerotium of P. tuber-regium. Samples of P. tuber-regium were collected from the wild in both the Hohoe and Techiman Districts and the mycelia grown on different media and incubated at 25ºC, 30ºC and 35ºC. Potato Dextrose Agar and Wheat Dextrose Agar were the best growth media for P. tuber-regium at the optimum temperature of 35ºC. The result
subjected to statistical analysis of variance (ANOVA) at 5% significance level showed significance differences in the mycelia growth at the different temperatures for both strains of P. tuber-regium. The strain from the Hohoe District grew faster than that from the Techiman District. pH 6 supported the best growth rate for both strains. Light was not essential for the mycelial growth of both strains of P. tuber-regium. P. tuber-regium was grown on various agricultural wastes (sawdust, plantain leaves, water hyacinth and millet stalk) to determine their suitability for fruitbody and sclerotium formation. Sawdust and plantain leaves produced sclerotia which gave Biological Efficiency (B.E) of 99.65% and 62.05% respectively, but only plantain leaves produced fruitbodies with B.E of 54.47%.
Fruitbody induction from sclerotia in soil was carried out in both cane baskets and plastic bowls to assess formation of fruitbodies. The cane basket recorded the fastest rate of induction. Plantain leaves contained the highest concentration of crude protein followed by wawa sawdust, millet stalk and water hyacinth. Cellulose and hemicellulose were most abundant in millet stalk followed by wawa sawdust and least in water hyacinth. Lignin was most abundant in wawa sawdust and lowest in plantain leaves.
Description
A Thesis Presented to the Department of Theoretical & Applied Biology, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology,Kumasi, in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Award of the Master of Philosophy Degree in Biological Sciences,