Radiopasteurization of sawdust media used in propagation of mushrooms

In our country, cultivation of mushrooms such as Pleurotus ostreatus, Kuehneromyces nameko, and Lentinus edodes (Cortinellus shiitake) are expanding, and has reached considerable amounts. These mushrooms are cultivated generally on decaying logs of broad leaf trees. Recently, these mushrooms are also cultivated artificially on the sawdust-media containing rice bran and other nutrient in the room of which temperature is controlled. However, these artificial culture media must be germicidated for 2 or 6 hours at 100 to 1200C before inoculation of mushroom spawn. In this study, attempts were made to cultivate Pleurotus ostreatus on the sawdust-media pasteurized by ionizing radiation. Inhibition of mushrooms growth were caused mainly by multiplication of Citrobacter and Fusarium, and these organisms were eliminated by a dose of 0.5 Mrad gamma irradiation. A surprising result was that many of sawdust media subjected to 0.5, 1.0 and 2.0 Mrad increased mycelial growth rates more than heat treatments, and also mushroom yields were enhanced. The multiplication of remaining microorganisms such as Bacillus and yeasts after irradiation with a dose of 0.5 Mrad or 1.0 Mrad did not inhibit the mycelial growth of mushrooms. (auth.)