ABSTRACT
Pleurotus pulmonarius commonly known as the grey oyster mushroom is the most widely cultivated species for its nutritional, medicinal and economical values. Two strains (China & Thailand) of P. pulmonarius were grown in potato dextrose agar (PDA) and sawdust substrate in different salinity conditions with different water collected from four resources to analyse the vegetative growth of mycelium. The water samples were labelled as W1-lab water (control), W2- Nas-Agro farm water, W3- Ganofarm water and W4- 7-star agricultural farm water. The present research evidently indicated that the two strains of P. pulmonarius showed relative similarities regarding their development and physiochemical characteristics. The mycelia of P. pulmonarius showed considerable growth for 0% and 1% NaCl in both PDA and substrate medium. The slight growth for 5% NaCl was observed only in sawdust substrate for W2 (water collected from Nas-Agro Farm) while remaining 10% NaCl plates (PDA) and test tubes (sawdust substrate) remained uncolonised. Among the NaCl concentrations tested, the best mycelia yield was recorded in the medium with low concentrations of NaCl as an essential element for the mycelial growth. Variation of mycelial growth was also observed with different water samples, growth medium and strains of the mushroom. The best results were observed in W2 with PDA media showing high vegetative growth. Moreover, the China strain showed faster and uniform results. This suggests that salinity, growth medium and water are effective for the growth of mycelium.