Efficacy of disinfectants and heat treatments against green mould in casing soil and button mushroom (Agaricus bisporus) yield

Abstract

Button mushroom (Agaricus bisporus) is the predominant mushroom species cultivated around the world. In the button mushroom cultivation, casing soil is one of the main substrate inducing emergence of mushrooms but presence of Trichoderma aggressivum f. aggressivum (causal agent of green mould disease) in casing soil causes devastating yield losses. However, little is known about management of the green mould in button mushroom cultivation. The aim of this study was to examine efficacy of several disinfectants and heat treatments against T. aggressivum f. aggressivum in casing soil and mushroom yield. In this respect, by considering yield (total amount of sporophores) values, in vivo experiments were separately set up according to randomized block design with three replications. As a result, compared to controls, disinfectants [hydrogen peroxide (H202), formaldehyde (CH2O), sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) and hypochlorous acid (HOCl)] and heat treatments (60, 90 and 120 °C) significantly (P˂0.01) increased mushroom yields up to 18.74 and 24.06% in the treated plots, respectively. Biological efficiency values ranged from 87.16 to 105.72% in the disinfectant treatments, while they varied from 93.15 to 95.68% in the heat treatments. However, applications of the disinfectants at high doses had negative influence on growth of A. bisporus. The overall results suggest that the tested disinfectants and heat treatments may significantly increase button mushroom yield by suppressing development of T. aggressivum f. aggressivum in casing soil. The present study not only reveals management practices that can be used against the green mould in the in vivo but also presents new knowledge for mushroom industry.