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The use of spent mushroom substrate (SMS) in new cultivation cycles has already been reported due to its economic and environmental viability. When considering the application of the circular economy concept in the production of edible mushrooms, the re-use of the SMS within the same process is highly attractive, because it allows a better use of the biomass and the energy involved in the process and, therefore, tends to improve energy efficiency and resource conservation. However, this alternative generates important challenges, which derive from maintaining the quality standards of the mushrooms produced and, at the same time, not incurring excessive costs that are detrimental to the process itself. In our opinion, the main difficulty of the process in achieving success is regarding the biological and agronomic parameters that involve the production of the mushroom. It is useless to apply SMS in new cycles if the mushroom harvest is impaired and farms become non-viable. However, numerous examples are reported here where SMS was recycled into new substrates for either the same or different mushroom species without negatively affecting yield compared with using substrates prepared from 100% fresh raw materials. Thus, we suggest that each farm has its own specific technological study, since a small variation in the raw material of the compost, and mushroom cultivation practices and casing layer used, can influence the entire viability of the mushroom circular economy.

Comprehensive and timely, Edible and Medicinal Mushrooms: Technology and Applications provides the most up to date information on the various edible mushrooms on the market. Compiling knowledge on their production, application and nutritional effects, chapters are dedicated to the cultivation of major species such as Agaricus bisporus, Pleurotus ostreatus, Agaricus subrufescens, Lentinula edodes, Ganoderma lucidum and others. With contributions from top researchers from around the world, topics covered include: • Biodiversity and biotechnological applications • Cultivation technologies • Control of pests and diseases • Current market overview • Bioactive mechanisms of mushrooms • Medicinal and nutritional properties Extensively illustrated with over 200 images, this is the perfect resource for researchers and professionals in the mushroom industry, food scientists and nutritionists, as well as academics and students of biology, agronomy, nutrition and medicine.

Among the cultivated mushroom, the genus Pleurotus is the second largest produced worldwide and the most produced in Brazil. The application of agricultural by-products (wastes) as substrate supplement is an effective approach to generate quality food while promoting a circular economy in agriculture. The manuscript evaluates the three key aspects of this practice: (1) the response of different mushroom strains to supplementation, (2) the use of agricultural by-products with different N content, and (3) the efficacy of certain preliminary treatments applied to the supplements. To this end, production and nutritional quality of the mushroom were tested along the crop cycle. Compared to the control substrate, the yield increased by 11, 26, 30 and 42% in the first flush and by 86 and 31% in the second flush. Supplementation resulted in an increment of the fiber and protein content of mushroom and a decline of carbohydrate and lipid content of mushroom.

The shiitake mushroom (Lentinula edodes) is globally valued for its nutrition and medicinal properties. New technologies aim to increase production with less environmental impact, considering materials such as charcoal for substrate enrichment. This manuscript evaluated the effect of fine charcoal (FC) on the substrate formulation of two L. edodes strains (LED 20/11 and LED 20/12). The substrate consisted of 72% eucalyptus sawdust, 12.5% rice bran, 12.5% wheat bran, and 3% calcium carbonate (control treatment without charcoal). Treatments with FC proportionally reduced the use of sawdust, with doses of 1%, 2%, 4%, 8%, and 16% (relative to the substrate material). Yield, mushroom number, and mushroom weight were evaluated. The concentration of FC significantly affected the parameters analyzed, especially at the 4% dose. A negative correlation between mushroom number and weight was observed. For yield, the control treatment and the lowest dose of FC (1%) had the highest yields for the first harvest. Strain LED 20/12 showed lower yield variability due to the percentage of FC applied to the substrate. The incorporation of FC into the substrate for shiitake cultivation demonstrates efficacy; however, both the concentration and strain used are limiting factors for its applicability.

Although considered relatively sustainable, mushroom production generates significant waste at the end of cultivation. This study investigated the reuse of Spent Mushroom Substrate (SMS) to formulate new substrates for Pleurotus ostreatus cultivation. Substrates with high (higher bran content) and low (lower bran content) nitrogen levels were prepared and supplemented with 5%, 10%, or 20% SMS across three successive cycles P. ostreatus crops. Cultivation performance was evaluated based on biological efficiency, number of mushrooms, fresh weight, and number of clusters. Substrates were chemically characterized for total nitrogen, carbon, C/N ratio, electrical conductivity, and pH. The inclusion of SMS, along with reduced bran content, did not improve P. ostreatus yield and led to lower productivity compared to control substrates. No consistent correlations were observed between chemical variables and yield, although high-N substrates generally performed better. SMS reuse, under these conditions, is not viable, but results encourage further research.

Mushrooms are capable of bioconverting organic residues into food. Understanding the relationship between high-quality yields and substrate biomass from these residues is critical for mushroom farms when choosing new strains. The objective of this exploratory study was, therefore, to analyze whether exotic mushrooms, namely, Pleurotus eryngii, Flammulina velutipes, and Agrocybe aegerita, could biologically convert the substrate into edible mushrooms as effectively as Lentinula edodes (baseline). Five experiments were carried out. Biological efficiency, biodegradability coefficient, mass balance and chemical characterization of the substrate were evaluated. Strategically hydrating the sawdust enabled L. edodes to achieve the greatest biodegradability and biological efficiency of 0.5 and 94.2 kg dt−1, respectively. The values for L. edodes on wheat straw without hydration were 0.2 and 68.8 kg dt−1, respectively. From 1000 kg of fresh substrate, P. eryngii produced 150.1 kg of edible mushrooms, making it technically competitive with L. edodes on wheat straw (195.9 kg). Hence, P. eryngii was the most reliable option for scaling among the exotic mushrooms. The analytical insights from our study provide further knowledge to advance the field’s prominence in high-throughput mushroom-producing systems, particularly for exotic mushrooms.

Mushroom production is a sustainable practice but requires improvements, such as in Lentinula edodes (Berk) Pegler cultivation, which has high water and labor demands. In this context, this study proposed replacing the traditional primordia induction method by submersion with a water injection method. Two primordia induction methods (submersion and injection) and two cultivation block formats were compared: rectangular cube (2 kg) and cylindrical (3.5 kg). The substrate, composed of eucalyptus sawdust (72%), wheat bran (12.5%), rice bran (12.5%), CaCO3 (1%), and CaSO4 (2%), was inoculated with strain LED 19/11 and incubated for 80 days at 26 ± 5 °C and 85 ± 15% humidity. After this period, the blocks were washed and transferred to the production environment. Fruiting was induced either by submersion or water injection, and production was evaluated over four harvest flushes. The 2 kg blocks had higher yields with submersion (16.62%), while the 3.5 kg blocks responded better to injection (13.01%), showing more homogeneous production. Increasing the substrate quantity contributes to greater harvest stability across production cycles. Water injections proved to be a viable alternative, reducing handling and facilitating large-scale production. The use of this technique demonstrates great importance in reducing water use and also the need for labor in cultivation.

The objective of this work was to evaluate the water supply method in the cultivation of button mushroom. The strains used were ABI 18/02, ABI 18/04, ABI 19/03, and ABI 11/19. An analysis of the ITS 1 + 2 regions, widely used as a fungal barcode, was performed in order to assess the genetics. The compost was packed in 35 × 50 cm plastic boxes with 10.5 kg m−2, and the inoculum was added (1% in relation to the compost weight). Before the addition of the casing layer, in half of the boxes, 25 L m−² of water was added directly to the colonized compost, resulting in the treatment of the water added to the compost. The yield, number, and weight of the mushrooms were analyzed. A phylogenetic tree for the A. bisporus strains based on ITS sequences confirms a close genetic relationship among the different collections of this species, and additional molecular markers are required to distinguish genotypes related to superior agronomic traits. The water management methods presented similar yields, except for one strain (ABI 18/04). The ABI 18/02 and 11/019 strains were more efficient when considering the method of adding water to the compost. This study suggests that the treatment of water added to the substrate is an alternative tool for reducing the application time and labor involved and as a control treatment to reduce water use.

Defatted almond meal (DAM) is an useless biomass waste obtained after oil extraction. The substrate designed for mushroom cultivation is achieved through a controlled composting process from agricultural by-products (chicken manure and wheat straw). This work shows the potential of DAM as efficient compost supplement for culturing the species Agaricus bisporus (J.E. Lange) Imbach and Pleurotus ostreatus (Jacq.) P. Kumm. Supplementation during A. bisporus cultivation results in larger mushrooms with a firmer texture and higher dry matter and protein contents in comparing with the non-supplemented substrate. In P. ostreatus, supplementation at a dosage of 15 g kg-1 provided a yield improvement up to 31.8%, compared to the control without supplement. The supplementation with DAM supposed equivalent or better yield than the commercial supplements. Therefore, the technique developed assessed good agronomic potential for application of DAM at the commercial scale in P. ostreatus cultures, adding value to a worthless organic by-product.

Purpose Spent mushroom compost (SMC) is a major solid waste product of the mushroom industry and is the material which remains at the end of a mushroom crop. Methods Different proportions of the SMC from Agaricus subrufescens cultivation were tested to produce seedlings and plants of tomato. A commercial substrate was used, both as a control and in combination with the spent compost in different proportions. So two experiments were carried out, the first was the production and evaluation of tomato seedlings and the second was tomato cultivation from seedlings produced in the first experiment. Results The use of different proportions of spent A. subrufescens compost resulted in a decreasing trend of all the parameters in the production of the tomato seedlings. However, in tomato cultivation for all periods of harvest, a positive effect was observed in fruiting when the seedlings were produced with spent A. subrufescens compost in comparison to the commercial control. Conclusion It was concluded that the use of spent A. subrufescens compost for seedling production led to a higher total tomato production compared to previously reported production levels in organic cultivation systems with green, organic and other types of fertilization. These results demonstrated the great potential of spent A. subrufescens compost for use in organic tomato production because of the better quality of harvested fruit.