Abstract

Coffee husk is a residue generated in large amount in Brazil and which contains caffeine and tannins, among other compounds, resulting in disposal problem. Recently, studies have shown that coffee husk can be used as substrate for mushroom cultivation. However, the main problem seems to be a low mushroom yield. Moreover, sterilization was always performed, making difficult the mushroom cultivation dissemination in deprived regions. Here, the viability of alternative methods was evaluated using lime immersion and boiling, to produce Pleurotus ostreatus mushrooms in coffee husk of two varieties. These alternative methods produce mushrooms with higher or similar yield as compared to sterilization method. Therefore, immersion of the substrate in water for removing toxic compounds, careful control of moisture in the substrate, and selection of strains adapted to growth in coffee husk seems to be efficient approaches to improve mushroom yield.

Key words: Coffee husk, Pleurotus ostreatus, cultivation, sterilization, mushroom yield.