EFFECT OF GROWTH REGULATORS AND TRACE ELEMENTS ON THE VEGETATIVE GROWTH OF PLEUROTUS SAPIDUS QUÉL.

Objective: The present study was undertaken to investigate the effect of biochemical sources viz., growth regulators and trace elements on the vegetative growth of Pleurotus sapidus Quél. It has a great commercial potential being an edible and wood decaying fungus. Mushrooms need carbon and nitrogen for structural and functional purposes in addition to trace elements, growth regulators and vitamins. Therefore, evaluation of their role in influencing the growth of the mushroom is a necessary aspect to be studied.Methods: Fresh sporocarps of P. sapidus were collected from rotten stumps of Grevillea robusta A. Cunn. ex R. Br and its pure culture was raised on Potato Dextrose Agar medium. The malt broth liquid medium at 28±1 °C was used as a basal medium for investigating the role of growth regulators (gibberellic acid, indole-3-acetic acid, indole-3-butyric acid and kinetin) and trace elements (manganese, iron, molybdenum, boron and zinc). Different concentrations of growth regulators and salts with trace elements were added to separate medium flask to compare the growth.Results: The comparative study of various concentrations of growth regulators and trace elements has shown that the cultures supplemented with 5 ppm gibberellic acid and 5 ppm boron, respectively gave maximum mycelial growth of P. sapidus.Conclusion: The vegetative growth of P. sapidus can be enhanced by adding gibberellic acid and boron in the basal medium