Impact of Light Limitation on Yield and Morphology in Pleurotus ostreatus: Optimizing Indoor Growth Conditions

Background and Objective: Pleurotus ostreatus is a highly valued edible mushroom with significant nutritional, medicinal and economic benefits. Optimizing growth conditions, including light exposure, is critical to maximizing yields in commercial cultivation. This paper investigates the impact of light limitation on the growth, yield and morphology of Pleurotus ostreatus (oyster mushroom) in indoor cultivation. This study focuses on assessing the effects of near-dark conditions on the growth parameters and yield performance of oyster mushrooms. Materials and Methods: The substrate used was made up of sawdust, rice husk and calcium carbonate. Cap diameter, stipe length and stipe girth were measured using a meter rule. The number of fruiting bodies and primordia were counted. Weight of fruiting bodies w obtained using a weighing balance. The substrates were set up in an office space under medium lighting conditions. The lighting condition was 0.5 lux using the digital lux meter. Results: The results of the study indicate that mushrooms grown under near-dark conditions (0.5 lux) exhibited significant stipe elongation, with a maximum stipe length of 12.00 cm. Cap diameters also reached impressive sizes, with a maximum recorded diameter of 14.00 cm. Biological yield and economic yield were also significantly enhanced under near-dark conditions. The substrate with the best performance achieved a biological yield of 30.44 g and a biological efficiency of 13.15%. Results indicate that minimal light exposure can enhance certain growth characteristics, such as cap size and biological efficiency. Conclusion: Near-dark conditions promote larger cap sizes and higher biological efficiency, which are desirable traits for commercial production. These findings contribute to a better understanding of how light conditions can be manipulated to optimize mushroom production.