A cascade approach to sustainable agriculture: From mushroom mycelium to lettuce harvest.

Sustainable agriculture involves adopting best practices in food production to promote environmental and economic sustainability. Its implementation primarily aims to utilise organic residues to increase yield, diversify production, and reduce costs. In this context, the objective of this study was to investigate different substrates for Hypsizygus ulmarius production and, from its residual substrate, to develop formulations for lettuce seedling growth and subsequent greenhouse cultivation. For mushroom production, substrates were prepared from sawdust with the addition of wheat bran, rice bran, soybean meal, and calcite, resulting in four distinct substrate formulations. The spent mushroom substrate (SMS), obtained at the end of cultivation, was used for lettuce seedling production along with the commercial substrate Carolina Soil® and the soil conditioner BacSol®. The top five formulations were selected for transplanting in the greenhouse. Regarding mushroom production, substrates with higher carbon/nitrogen ratios, around 66: 1, resulted in higher yields. For seedling production, SMS showed lower efficiency compared to the commercial substrate Carolina Soil®, which also benefited from the addition of the soil conditioner BacSol®. However, after transplanting lettuce seedlings, the formulation containing SMS showed superior results in almost all evaluated parameters. Therefore, we concluded that despite the inefficiency of using H.ulmarius SMS for lettuce seedling production, it favours the establishment of seedlings in greenhouse cultivation environments.

Influence of strains and environmental cultivation conditions on the bioconversion of ergosterol and vitamin D2 in the sun mushroom.

BACKGROUND: The fungus Agaricus subrufescens is grown commercially in China, the USA, Brazil, Taiwan and Japan, among others. However, each country adopts a cultivation system that significantly influences the agronomical parameters and chemical composition of the harvested mushrooms. In this study, the influence of the cultivation process on the content of ergosterol and vitamin D2 was evaluated. RESULTS: Four commercial strains of A. subrufescens (ABL 04/49, ABL CS7, ABL 18/01 and ABL 19/01) and two environmental cultivation conditions (in the field and a controlled chamber with the absence of sunlight) were used. Infield cultivation, ABL CS7 and ABL 19/01 strains presented better agronomic parameters, whereas in a protected environment ABL 19/01, ABL 04/49 and ABL 18/01 demonstrated better performance, respectively. The highest biological efficiency value (64%) was provided by ABL 19/01 strain in a controlled environment. CONCLUSION: The highest content in ergosterol (990 mg kg-1 ) and vitamin D2 (36.8 mg kg-1 ) were observed in mushrooms obtained in the field from strain ABL 04/49, which presents reasonable agronomic parameters for cultivation. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry.

Tecnologic Development on Pleurotus Cultivation: Specific Practices Used in Brazil

HIGHLIGHTS P. ostreatus and P. sapidus are the most productive species under the evaluated conditions. Different growing systems are suitable for the production of P. ostreatus var. Florida. Temperature control level affects differently the P. ostreatus var. Florida isolates. Environmental and strain factors affect yield and production parameters of P. ostreatus var. Florida.

Abstract In Brazil, Pleurotus is the most important mushroom produced especially P. ostreatus var. Florida. In this country as in many others, the great potential for mushroom cultivation remains unexplored. Therefore, it is very important to develop new studies that allow optimizing its production. The aims of the manuscript were: i) to evaluate the productivity of six different species of Pleurotus (P. citrinopileatus; P. djamor; P. ostreatus; P. ostreatus var. Florida; P. pulmonarius; P. sapidus); ii) to measure the effect of three different environmental conditions during cultivation of three isolates of P. ostreatus var. Florida. As results, P. ostreatus and P. sapidus were the most productive isolates under the evaluated conditions. Different environments produced variable effects according to the P. ostreatus var. Florida isolates, being possible to observe a highly plastic strain (POF 02/18), a highly sensitive strain (POF 03/18) and a strain with variable responses (POF 01/18).

Seasonal Variation in Mycorrhizal Community of Different Cerrado Phytophysiomies.

Purpose: Understanding the dynamics of mycorrhizal fungi in the Cerrado is fundamental for the adoption of conservation practices and for understanding the resilience of this biome in relation to long periods of drought. Thus, this work aimed to verify the dynamics of the mycorrhizal population in five phytophysiognomies of the Cerrado biome. Methods: The samples were taken from the Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park, a permanent preservation with native Cerrado vegetation without any anthropic influence. The five main phytophysiognomies of the Cerrado biome were chosen: the Campo Limpo, Campo Sujo, Cerrado Strictu Sensu, Cerradão, and Veredas. Rhizospherical soil samples were collected in both the wet and dry seasons. Spore density, mycorrhizal colonization rate, easily extractable glomalin, and associated mycorrhizal fungi genera were identified. Results: The values of spore density, mycorrhizal colonization rate, and glomalin were higher in the samples performed during the dry season compared to the samples performed in the rainy season. The same behavior was observed when comparing the different phytophysionomies. Conclusion: Mycorrhizal activity is higher in dry periods when compared to rainy periods. There is no specificity of genera of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi within the Cerrado phytophysiognomies.