Abstract

As part of participatory research with farmers from the municipality of Cacahoatán, Chiapas, Mexico, an experiment was conducted to determine the technical feasibility of using substrate self-pasteurisation to grow oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus spp). In the first step, the substrate treatment (alkaline immersion disinfection versus self-heating pasteurisation) was evaluated, and after determining the better treatment, the productivity of 10 strains of four Pleurotus species, Pleurotus ostreatus (ECS-0152 and ECS-1123), P. eryngii (ECS-1290 and ECS-1138), P. citrinopileatus (ECS-1338 and ECS-01337) and P. djamor (ECS-0143, ECS-0142, ECS ECS-0144 and ECS-0149) was evaluated. Comparison of the substrate preparation treatments using P. ostreatus strain ECS-0152 showed significant differences in Biological Efficiency (BE) between alkaline immersion and self-heating pasteurisation, which had BE values of 57.6 and 78.6%, respectively (p = 0.001). The yield was compared in three levels of the substrate inside the crate used for self-heating pasteurisation, and no significant differences between the levels were found (p = 0.103). In the evaluated strains, five strains (ECS-0152, ECS-01123, ECS-1338, ECS-0142 and ECS-0149) produced mushrooms with BE values between 53.5 to 111.9%, whereas the other five strains did not produce mushrooms. The highest rate of production was observed in the strain ECS-1123. It can be concluded that the self-heating pasteurisation method is feasible at the field level, and furthermore, five strains of Pleurotus spp. that are able to be cultivated on substrate pasteurised in this way were identified.

Key words: Alkaline immersion, self-heating substrate pasteurisation, edible mushrooms, mushroom cultivation