Effect of cost-effective substrates on growth cycle and yield of lingzhi or reishi medicinal mushroom, Ganoderma lucidum (higher Basidiomycetes) from Northwestern Himalaya (India).

To find a cost-effective alternative substrate, the medicinal mushroom Ganoderma lucidum was grown on sawdusts of sheesham, mango, and poplar. Optimum spawn level was determined by spawning in substrates at various levels (1, 2, 3, and 4%). To determine the effect of supplementation, substrates were supplemented with wheat bran, rice bran and corn flour at different concentrations (10, 20, and 30%). Duration of growth cycle, mushroom yield, and biological efficiency data were recorded. Among substrates, mango sawdust was superior, with 1.5-fold higher yields than poplar sawdust, which was the least suitable. However with respect to fructification, mango sawdust produced the first primordia earlier (21±1 days) compared with the other investigated substrates. 3% spawn level was found to be optimal irrespective of the substrate. Yield and biological efficiency (BE) were maximally enhanced by supplementation with wheat bran, whereas rice bran was the least suitable supplement among those tested. Growth cycle shortened and mushroom yield increased to a maximum at the 20% level of supplements. Mango sawdust in combination with 20% wheat bran, if spawned at the 3% level, resulted in a high yield (BE = 58.57%).