Vol. 12, Special Issue 9 (2023)

Author(s):
R Kalpana Devi, G Thiribhuvanamala, K Angappan, A Bharani, M Thirunavukkarasu, T Praveen, DVS Chakradhar Reddy and K Ganesh Sarvanan

Abstract:
Mushroom production has expanded globally due to its nutritional and functional properties. India habituate with diverse mushroom flora, albeit only half of these have been characterized yet. Wild mushrooms are natural source with nutritional rich food. In India due to its diverse climatic conditions, many types of mushrooms are found in the wild, a survey was conducted in the forest regions of Coimbatore District viz., Siruvani, Sadivayal, Velliankadu and TNAU Botanical Garden and about six isolates of Pleurotus mushroom were collected. The isolates were identified morphologically on genus level and characterized molecularly through ITS 1 and ITS 4 sequencing viz., Pleurotus pulmonarius, Pleurotus djamor 1, Pleurotus djamor 2, Pleurotus djamor 3, Pleurotus djamor 4, and Pleurotus djamor 5. Among the isolates, P. djamor 2 performed well in all aspects of yield parameters viz., typical phenotypic character (a big white pileus with a wavy edge and a thin or rudimentary stipe), economic yield (482.7 g/ 500 g substrate) and bio-efficiency per cent (96.3 per cent). From the current study, the cultivation of P. djamor 2 could be suitable for commercial cultivation because of its distinct phenotypic character and bio-efficiency of 96.3 per cent.