International Journal of Manures and Fertilizers

Full Length Research Paper

Agaricus bisporus cultivation using locally obtainable casing materials and various composting recipes. Part I: Composting formulations based on wheat straw and locally obtainable casing materials

Ergun Baysal^1*, Osman Nuri Yigitbasi¹, Mehmet Colak¹, Hilmi Toker¹, Hakan Simsek¹, and Ferah Yilmaz²

¹Mugla University, Faculty of Technical Education, Kotekli, 48000, Mugla, Turkey.

²Mugla University, Mushroom Research Center, Kotekli, 48000, Mugla, Turkey.

Accepted 14 May, 2023

Three compost formulas; wheat straw based and using different activator materials such as wheat brain, chicken manure, and pigeon manure were used for Agaricus bisporus cultivation. Locally available casing materials such as peat of Bolu, peat of Agacbasi, peat of Caykara, and their mixture (80:20; v:v) with perlite were used. Temperature degrees of all of compost formulas were measured during composting at various depth in order to determine the compostability level. Results showed that inner compost temparature increased until the 8^th and 9^th day of composting for formula I, formula II, and formula III composts, respectively. The maximum inner compost temperature degrees were measured for all compost formulas at the second turning stage of composting. The highest mushroom yield (1707.2 g) was recorded by wheat straw mixed with pigeon manure with the peat of Caykara and perlite mixture as casing material.

Keywords: Composting, Agaricus bisporus, compost temperature, peat of Bolu, peat of Agacbasi, peat of Caykara.