📄 Abstract
Mushroom cultivation provides an opportunity for converting agricultural residues into a value-added food product and generating additional income from small-scale agricultural enterprises. The present study evaluated the yield and economic performance of Pleurotus florida and Hypsizygus ulmarius cultivated on different substrate treatments. Eight treatments comprising paddy straw, cocopeat, maize cob powder and mushpellets, either alone or supplemented with 5 per cent mulberry silkworm pupa powder, were evaluated using 2.5 kg substrate bags. The experiment was conducted in a completely randomized design with three replications. Yield was recorded for three successive flushes. Production cost, gross return, net return and benefit-cost ratio were estimated for the substrate treatments. In P. florida, the highest total yield was recorded in T8 (mushpellets + 5% mulberry silkworm pupa powder), with 636.70 g bag⁻¹. Similarly, H. ulmarius recorded the highest total yield in T8, with 654.06 g bag⁻¹. The lowest yields were recorded under cocopeat-based treatments. The treatment-level economic analysis showed that production cost ranged from ₹129 to ₹184 bag⁻¹. T8 recorded the highest gross return (₹387.23 bag⁻¹) and net return (₹203.23 bag⁻¹), whereas T1 (paddy straw) recorded the highest benefit-cost ratio of 2.41. Mushpellets alone also showed favourable economic performance, with a net return of ₹194.07 bag⁻¹ and B:C ratio of 2.22. The findings demonstrate that substrate selection influences both mushroom productivity and economic efficiency. Paddy straw provided an economically efficient low-cost option, while mushpellet-based substrates supported higher production and higher absolute returns.
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📚 How to Cite:
Karna K B, Pampangouda, Mahadevaswamy , ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE OF PLEUROTUS FLORIDA AND HYPSIZYGUS ULMARIUS UNDER DIFFERENT SUBSTRATE TREATMENTS , Volume 14 , Issue 9, September 2026, EPRA International Journal of Agriculture and Rural Economic Research (ARER) , Pages: 28 - 33 ,