Abstract: Using the organic fertilizer made from spent mushroom substrates produced after the cultivation of Pleurotus ostreatus with corn straw as the base fertilizer, the indoor pot experiment was carried out. The results showed that the application of spent mushroom substrates fertilizer had a certain promoting effect on the growth and development of maize seedlings stage. Compared with the control group, the plant height of maize seedlings cultivated with 12 g spent mushroom substrates fertilizer per kilogram of soil was increased by 18%, the aboveground fresh weight was increased by 23.27%, the aboveground dry weight increased by 23.89%, and the chlorophyll content and photosynthetic rate also increased significantly. The further test results showed that the application of spent Pleurotus ostreatus substrates fertilizer increased the content of soil organic matter, soil conductivity, soil cation exchange capacity, soil available nutrients and soil total nutrients, and could decrease the pH value of soil.

Key words: Pleurotus ostreatus bran, maize, physiological indexes, soil properties