PERTANIKA JOURNAL OF TROPICAL AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE

Potato Dextrose is the most commonly used media for the culturing of fungi. In this study, local crops were used as a substitute for potato. The growth of yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) in broth media and molds (Aspergillus flavus TISTR 3366, Bipolaris oryzae DOAC 1760, Fusarium semitectum DOAC 1986 and Penicillium sp.) on agar media was examined. Four crops (cassava, potato, sweet potato and taro) were utilised as nutrient source in fungal media to result in four types of dextrose media while commercial potato dextrose media was used as the control. S. cerevisiae recorded the highest level of growth with 2.76 × 10⁷ cells/mL when cultured in Sweet Potato Dextrose Broth at 25% sweet potato, 2% dextrose, initial pH 4.6 and agitated at 250 rpm at 27°C. Additionally, for the mold growth, Sweet Potato Dextrose Agar demonstrated significantly higher mycelial growth than commercial Potato Dextrose Agar while Taro Dextrose Agar showed similar positive result, except for F. semitectum DOAC 1986. This study showed that sweet potato and taro have a strong potential for use as alternative nutrient substitutes in fungal media production for yeast and mold growth.