Some effects of casing soil amendments on mushroom cropping

Abstract

Addition of compost fully colonized by mycelium of Agaricus bisporus (spawn-run compost) to casing peat on mushroom beds resulted in earlier initiation and development of sporophores, more uniform distribution of sporophores, significantly higher yield of mushrooms and early completion of cropping compared with unamended casing peat. Numbers of pseudomonads were also significantly higher in the amended than in the unamended series. Similar results were obtained by substituting equivalent amounts of an inert material such as woven glass fibre for the spawn-run compost. These observations are explained as being due to the interaction between the degree of aeration of the casing peat and the activity of pseudomonads in that layer. A relationship between high levels of pseudomonads and high yield of mushrooms is established. It is pointed out that this technique bears good prospects for increasing the production of mushrooms in commercial farms.