Cultivation of black poplar mushroom, Cyclocybe aegerita, on woody and non-woody lignocellulosic substrates with a high biological efficiency

Abstract

The Black Poplar mushroom, Cyclocybe aegerita, is considered a high-quality mushroom due to its high nutritional value, delicious taste, and unique aroma. This fungus is commonly grown in East Asia and Europe. It has shown low biological efficiency (BE) on a majority of lignocellulosic substrates studied to date. This study aims to investigate the possibility of enhancing the BE of C. aegerita and to evaluate the effect of the carbon to nitrogen (C:N) ratio in the substrate. The performance of C. aegerita was determined using five woody and non-woody lignocellulosic substrates with a precisely determined C:N ratio. The result showed that the highest significant BE was 194%, obtained from a non-woody substrate composed of 78% wheat straw supplemented with 20% wheat bran (p ≤ 0.05), followed by a woody substrate composed of 73% of wood chips, 10% of wheat bran, 10% of cottonseed, and 5% of wheat seed, which generated 123% BE. The remaining substrates were unable to produce more than 100% BE (p ≤ 0.05). The mycelial growth of C. aegerita in the substrate as well as in the substrate-derived media was also significantly improved using a non-woody substrate consisting of 78% wheat straw supplemented with 20% wheat bran compared with other substrates (p ≤ 0.05). Further analyses also revealed that an increased level of the C:N ratio resulted in a decline in the total fresh yield that was obtained from the substrates, so that the optimal C:N ratio was found to be within the range of 48–56%. These findings may have implications for improving the BE of C. aegerita and removing one of its most important barriers in commercial production.