Favourable culture conditions for mycelial growth of Hydnum repandum, a medicinal mushroom.

In this study, factors such as pH, temperature, carbon and nitrogen sources that affect mycelial growth of Hydnum repandum, a medicinal mushroom, were investigated. Different inoculum media for vegetative inoculum production were also examined. The best suitable pH for mycelial growth was found to be 5.5. Among constant temperatures, the best mycelial growth was obtained at 20 and 25°C. The mycelial growth drastically decreased at 15°C, and no mycelia were obtained at 30°C. Glucose and mannitol were found to be the most suitable carbon sources. Ca(NO3)2 as a nitrogen source gave the best results for mycelial growth. The poorest mycelial growth was noted in sucrose and xylose as carbon sources and in NH4NO3 and (NH4)2HPO4 as nitrogen sources. Peat and peat: vermiculite mixtures (1:4, 1:6, 1:8 and 1:10, v:v) were the best media to use in producing the vegetative inoculum of H. repandum.

Hazelnut husk as a substrate for the cultivation of shiitake mushroom (Lentinula edodes).

The possibility of using hazelnut husk (HH) as a new basal ingredient for substrate preparation in Lentinula edodes cultivation was investigated. Some chemical properties of the substrates prepared by HH alone and its mixtures with wheat straw (WS), beech wood-chip (BWC) and wheat bran (WB) in different ratios were compared, and their effects on spawn run time, days to first harvest (earliness), yield and biological efficiency (BE) were determined. The N content of the substrate prepared from HH alone was very high (0.82%), and thus the C:N ratio of substrates decreased with an increase in the rate of HH in the mixtures. Yield and BE in the HH alone substrate was considerably low compared with the controls (80BWC:10WS:10M and 60BWC:20WS:20WB), and decreased with an increase in the rate of HH in the mixtures. However, when the HH content in the mixtures was kept below 50%, the yield was relatively high (50HH:50WS and 50HH:50BWC). Even when the HH content increased to 75% in the mixture, the comparable yield and BE to the controls could be obtained by adding 10% of WB as nutrients (75HH:15WS:10WB and 75HH:15BWC:10WB). The results revealed that HH could be used as a new basal ingredient for substrate preparation in L. edodes cultivation.

Using tea waste as a new casing material in mushroom (Agaricus bisporus (L.) Sing.) cultivation.

In this study, the possibility of using tea production waste as a new casing material in mushroom (Agaricus bisporus) cultivation was investigated. Some physical and chemical characteristics of tea waste, fermented tea waste and a mixture of tea waste with peat were compared with that of peat casing, as were their effects on yield. The highest yield was obtained from peat casing. Using tea production waste alone as a casing was not acceptable for assured yield when it was compared with peat. But, a mixture of tea production waste with peat in 1:1 (v:v) ratio increased the yield. There was no significant difference between the mushroom yields of tea production waste+peat and peat casing materials at the end of 30 and 40 days. High salt content, organic and inorganic compounds in casing materials caused reduction of yields. However, a high iron content in casing material gave a significant positive correlation with total yield at 40 days.