Cultivation of Agaricus bisporus on some compost formulas and locally available casing materials. Part I: Wheat straw based compost formulas and locally available casing materials

Abstract

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.