Incubation period of axenic shiitake (Lentinula edodes L.) blocks

Abstract

Shiitake mushroom (Lentinula edodes) is the most produced mushroom in the world and has a long incubation period, which precedes the productive phase, being the only mushroom produced in axenic blocks, which, after completing the mycelial colonization, initiates the maturation of the mycelium forming a brown cover. Many producers are told that when they find contaminated blocks in their production, they must discard them immediately. On the other hand, producers report that over the fruiting period, some blocks contaminate more than others. The objective of this work is to identify the best incubation period for productivity and occurrence of contaminants. Incubation periods of 70, 80, 90, 100 and 110 days were tested. Production precocity, productivity and biological efficiency, average number and mass of mushrooms, brown cap formation area, number of points of contamination and identification of contaminant species were evaluated. The results obtained show that the best incubation period was 70 days.