PLP 150C1 1st Edition Lecture 11Outline of Last Lecture I. CheeseA. European, soft, blue.II. BreadA. SourdoughIII. Salami and other meatIV. BeansV. OncomOutline of Current Lecture I. History of cultivationII. Mushrooms in the marketIII. Chester County, PAA. Why PA?IV. Agaricus bisporus Current LectureMushroom history• 5000 B.C. - Oldest archaeological record of mushroom use (Cave art).• 3000 B.C. - “Iceman of the Alps” carrying mushrooms• 54 AD - Julia Agrippina poisoned Emperor Claudius with Amanita spp.Mushroom production• 5000 edible species• 60 have been cultivated• All the rest must be gathered in the wild.The beginning of cultivation• 1245 - Chen Yen-yu writes about 15 varieties• 1313 - Wang Zeng describes cultivation of Shiitake• 1707 - Tourefort describes cultivation of Agaricus campestris, the common field mushroom◦ Using horse manure as a substrate◦ Using limestone mines as the production facility• 1900 - Oyster mushrooms in the USMushrooms in a competitive market• Among the most perishable produce items• Big change in quality between a 1-day post-harvest mushroom and a 5-day old....consumerscan see the difference• Many markets are 3-5 days away from commercial producers• There’s a tremendous need for local production to improve quality.• From its inception, commercial mushroom production has been profitable• China is the top mushroom producing country• Production and consumption of mushrooms has increased so much in the past ten years. Doubled.Chester County, PA• Mushroom Capital of the World• Largest cash crop in PA: 780 million annually.• 81% of mushroom farms• 64% of PA production• 37% of US production• Why Pennsylvania, though??◦ They have a lot of greenhouses and dead space under their flower beds. So started mushrooms.◦ Then continued because they had all the resourcesProfit from mushrooms• Very cost effective - raw materials aren’t expensive• High yields, generally 6 lb of mushrooms on a sq ft of compost• About $9.5 million per acre!!!Four principles of mushroom cultivation• Create a substrate• Inoculate this substrate with your fungus so it will dominate• Manage the environment to favor initial growth and nutrient utilization• Manage the environment to favor periodic mushroom initiation and developmentThe 1st step in commercial mushroom production is the production of uniform spawn. Production and testing of primary cultures takes 6-8 weeks, to ensure good quality.They use the most advanced equipment in the biotechnology industry. Agaricus bisporus• The champion• Tons of varieties - white button, crimini, portabella• 80% are white buttonSystems of growing button mushrooms• Single Zone Bed Form - Most common in PA. Crop remains in 1 room through the whole growing cycle. They stay there until harvest• Multiple Zone Tray Farms - Common for 5+ billion lbs• Crop moves to different rooms for different parts of the growing