4. Discussion
The four substrates screened, all supported the growth of the mushroom though to a varying degrees. This confirms the report of Keshari (2004) and Tricita (2005) that Volvoriella volvacea could be grown on agricultural waste. Apart from the paddy straw which is the traditional substrate for the cultivation of the mushroom, oil palm fibre was equally good. In terms of the number of fruitbodies produced, weight of the fruitbodies and diameter of the pileus it was as good as the control. This agrees with the findings of Isikhemhen (2004) who reported that Volvoriella volvacea can be cultivated on other unsupplemented agricultural waste. The duration of growth is very short and many fruitbodies could be produced within the period. It was also reported by Landford (2004) that they are not only excellent edible mushroom but also can colonize substrates and grow quickly on some unsuplemented agrowaste. There was statistically no significant difference between (p>0.05) the yield parameters of control (paddy straw) and oil palm fibre. This means that the oil palm fibre as an agrowaste, could be used to produce the mushroom as much as the paddy straw could produce. It might be a way of reducing agrowaste in the environment first as reported by Kuyper et.al.(2002) that the cultivation of Volvariella volvacea on local agricultural creates a way of reducing environmental pollution.