Sound Stimulation using Quranic Verses in Oyster Mushroom (Pleurotus sp.) Production

This study is an attempt to ascertain the effect of sound stimulation using Quranic verses on the growth and yield of grey oyster mushroom (Pleurotus sajor-caju) and white oyster mushroom (Pleurotus florida). The sound stimulation using five Quranic verses which were An-Nahl (16:10-11), Al-An'aam (6: 99), Al-An'aam (6: 141), AzZumar (39: 21) and 'Abasa (80: 24-32) was applied every 5 days interval during spawning period at 75 decibels (dB) sound intensity. The parameters studied were mycelium growth rate, days of mycelium fill-up the bag, days for pinhead emergence, days for fruiting body formation, total fresh weight (g) and percentage biological efficiency (%). There were significant differences (P<0.05) in almost all the parameters between sound treated and untreated mushrooms. Grey oyster mushrooms which were sound treated regardless the Quranic verses used, showed faster growth rate compared to control. Whereas for white oyster mushroom, the fastest growth rate was observed in those treated with Al-An'aam (6: 141) at 0.80 cm/day. In term of yield, higher yield were obtained from treatments using Az-Zumar (39: 21) (80.70%), Al-An'aam (6: 141) (78.90%) and An-Nahl (16: 10-11) (70.50%) for grey oyster mushroom and for white oyster mushroom, treatment with Al-An'aam (6: 141) produced the highest yield and percentage biological efficiency. In conclusion, sound treatment using Al-An'aam (6: 141) could be considered as the best Quranic verse to enhance the growth and production of oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus sp).