The edible mushroom has both nutritional value and health benefits to man. The present study was carried out to evaluate the phenotypic characteristics of three species of mushroom which the substrates were amended with lime. The factorial experiment was conducted at the Crop Development Laboratory of Ebonyi State University Mushroom Farm, Abakaliki. The design was completely randomized (CRD) in three replications. Factor A comprised three species of mushroom (Pleurotus ostreasus, Pleurotus sajor and Pleurotus florida) while factor B comprised four levels of lime (0, 5, 10 and 15 gram/15kg mixture). Data were collected on some agro-morphological characteristics and analysed for their variances. The three species of mushroom showed significant differences (p<0.05) with regards to percentage spawn running, number of branches, stalk diameter, cap diameter and fresh weight of mushroom while lime doses had non-significant differences (p>0.05). In the same vein, the interaction effect of mushroom

species and lime rates were significantly different (p<0.05) with regards to percentage spawn running, number of branches, stalk diameter and fresh weight of mushroom. Pleurotus florida expressed the highest mean value for fresh and dry weights, fruit number, branches and productive bags hence performed better than the other two species studied. The 5g and 10g lime rates expressed higher mushroom yield components. The mushroom species were recommended to farmers to be grown using 5 – 10 g of lime for commercial cultivation.

Highlights

• The three species of mushroom evaluated namely; Pleurotus ostreasus, P. sajor and P. florida had significant differences in phenotypic traits which could be utilized for further improvement.
• Lower rates of lime such as 5g/15kg substrate supported better growth and yield of the mushroom.