Effect of different bag opening methods on the growth, yield, and nutritional composition of two oyster mushrooms Pleurotus ostreatus and Pleurotus cystidiosus

The study was conducted to compare the effects of different bag opening methods on the growth, yield, and nutritional composition of oyster mushrooms Pleurotus ostreatus (PO) and Pleurotus cystidiosus (PC). Bag opening methods were used including (1) removing ring and cotton plug, (2) opening at the top and bottom of culture bags, (3) opening some site around culture bags, (4) de-plastic culture bag. The culture bag after taking of cotton plug (no removing ring) was used as control. This result obtained showed that different bag opening methods had significant effect on mushroom yield, biological efficiency (BE), and no effect on nutritional composition of mushroom PO and PC. Bag opened with larger surface induced rapidly dried substrate and reducing the number of flushes and total harvesting period. However, it induced increasing the number of effective fruiting bodies of both oyster mushrooms, the yield at the first three flushes of mushroom PO and at the first flush of mushroom PC, except de- plastic culture bag. No removing ring was the best method to get the highest yield (204.3 g/bag) and BE (40.80%) of mushroom PC while removing ring was identified as the best method for cultivation of mushroom PO with the highest yield (298.5 g/bag) and BE (59.62%). Opening at the top and bottom and opening some sites around culture bag were suitable opening methods for mushroom PO to reduce the total harvesting period and increase mushroom weight per flush while total yield and PE were not different with control condition.