found. These by-products are left to rot in the field or
are disposed off through burning. Cultivation of
mushrooms on these by-products may be one of the
solutions to transforming these inedible wastes into
accepted edible biomass of high market value. The spent
substrates from mushroom cultivation can also potentially
be used as an animal feed supplement, possibly
providing additional animal feed resources [11]. Pleurotus
species, a widely accepted mushroom cultivated in
Ghana, degrades and grows directly on these lignocellulosic
by-products [7]. Although, large volumes of byproducts
are available in Ghana, their use as substrate
for mushroom cultivation has not been fully exploited.
This paper reports on the comparative utilisation of
eight lignocellulosic by-products as substrates on the
growth rate and yield of P. ostreatus (Jacq. ex .fr)
Kummer using the plastic bag method [6]. This method
is more reliable, in that it produces better and more
stable yields, than the traditional commercial method of
cultivation.