Production of Food Mushrooms (Lentinula edodes) Isolated from the Iraqi Environment Using Agricultural Waste

Abstract

Abstract Shiitake mushroom Lentinula edodes have been a part of the human diet since ancient times. Mushrooms have gained a lot of attention lately due to their prospects in medicine and nutrient production. Due to the lack of research studies on this fungus globally, particularly in Iraq, this study is considered the first in which agricultural waste is used to produce local food mushrooms. The local strain L. edodes (OM432157), which was discovered for the first time in the Iraqi environment, was cultivated in the laboratory using nine treatments based on sawdust as the main substrate. It was observed that the highest growth rate of the fungus strain under study was in T8 (1.8 cm) and the lowest growth rate in T5 was 1.1 (cm). Fungal tissue growth in treatments (T4, T5) required (29 days), while in treatment T8 it required (26 days), and in other remaining treatments it accomplished in 25 days. The time required for pin heads to form in T5 was obviously faster (17 days), followed by T8 (18 days) and T9 (19 days). In addition, that both treatments (T5, T9) achieved a high yield of mushroom, as T5 was 250 gm, and treatment T8 reached 200 gm. Our findings contributes to product the local strain L. edodes (OM432157) wild in the laboratory by using different substrates.