Int.J.Curr.Microbiol.App.Sci (2017) 6(12): 1202-1205 1202 Original Research Article https://doi.org/10.20546/ijcmas.2017.612.136 Evaluation of Different Species of Pleurotus for Maximum Yield in Different Seasons on Paddy Straw under Temperate Conditions of Kashmir Valley Shaheen Kouser 1 , Farahanaz Rasool 1 , Nighat Mushtaq 2* and Rehana Jan 3 1 Division of Plant Pathology, 2 Division of Vegetable Sciences, 3 Division of Soil Science, SKUAST-K Shalimar, India *Corresponding author ABSTRACT Introduction Mushrooms are regarded as important food items and their usage is being increased day by day because of their significant role in human health, nutrition and disease. Mushrooms of Pleurotus spp. are commonly known as oyster mushrooms and globally occupy the second position among cultivated edible mushrooms due to their nutritional and medicinal values (Khan et al., 2008).The environmental factor is very important for the production of oyster mushrooms. Various mushrooms are known to be sensitive to the climatic conditions (Van Peer et al., 2009). The major environmental factors like temperature, humidity, fresh air and compact materials affect the mushroom production. Pleurotus spp. grows in wide range of temperature (15-30 0 C) which also varies from species to species (Sarker et al., 2008). Bano and Rajarathnam (1982) observed maximum yield of oyster mushroom (Pleurotus sajor-caju) when the temperature was nearly 20-26ºC and relative humidity 70- 90%. A fairly good yield can be obtained up to 30ºC. Production of P. fossulatus prefers 20±1ºC but P. eous prefers 21-35ºC and humidity of 65 to 100%. Kong (2004) reported that P. ostreatus, P. florida, P. sajor- caju reach their optimum growth at 25ºC. In Kashmir, oyster mushrooms are most popular International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 6 Number 12 (2017) pp. 1202-1205 Journal homepage: http://www.ijcmas.com Six species of dhingri mushroom were evaluated for their yield potential and other quality characters on paddy straw substrate in three different growing seasons viz., spring, summer and autumn with temperatures during growing seasons ranging from 18-25 o C, 30-35 o C and 15-20 o C respectively. All the six test species produced crop in all seasons but with significantly varied yield. The maximum yield was produced by local species, P. ulmarius and the minimum by P. sajor caju. Maximum yield of (36.94 kg qt -1 substrate) was recorded in autumn season and minimum (30.19 kg qt -1 substrate) in summer season. Species P. sajor caju produced maximum crop (48.39 kgqt -1 substrate) in summer season. Maximum no. of fruit body per kg of mushroom (122.60) was recorded in P. petalloides and the average weight of single fruit body was more (8.41g) in P.sajorcaju and less (3.66g) in P. petalloides. Keywords Yield, Paddy straw, Temperate conditions, Kashmir. Accepted: 10 October 2017 Available Online: 10 December 2017 Article Info