Progress 10/01/08 to 09/30/11
Outputs
OUTPUTS: Since the beginning of this project in 2009, 6 experiments involving forest cultivated gourmet mushrooms grown on logs were undertaken. Shiitake logs do not produce mushrooms until the 2nd growing season and continue producing for 3 to 4 years. Hence production data was collected not only on experiments initiated during this project, but also on a 4 year old experiment begun in 2006 during a previous Hatch project. Production practices amongst growers have been based largely on "conventional wisdom", with little input from research. The overall goal of this project was to subject conventional wisdom regarding cultivation and marketing to rigorous experimental verification and to recommend alternative approaches for the northeast. Amongst commercial shiitake growers, it is widely held that oak logs, a valuable timber species, are best for growing shiitake. Expt. 1, initiated in 2006, was designed to compare oak logs with 3 other locally abundant tree species of little or no value as timber. These included Northern red oak, Red maple, American beech, and Big tooth aspen. Expt. 2, initiated 2009 compared production on Red oak to 3 other common species including Sugar maple, Muscle wood (Carpinus), and Hop hornbeam (Ostrya). Most growers inoculate logs with shiitake spawn in early spring because it is believed that is when sap (sugar) is most available. To test this, in Expt 3, trees were felled and logs inoculated in winter, spring, summer, and fall. It is generally believed that unintended secondary fungi that are parasitic or competitive with shiitake and reduce shiitake mushroom yield. Expt 4. was intended to compare the effect log stacking method (aeration) and of shiitake inoculation density on development of secondary fungi and on shiitake mushroom production. At the present time, shiitake is the only economically viable species, but growers could benefit economically from diversification to include other types of gourmet mushrooms. Several genetically different strains of Lion's mane (Hericium sp.) were compared in an indoor sawdust production system (Expt. 5) and an outdoor forest totem log system (Expt. 6). Both experiments involved several strains obtained locally from the wild and 1 commercial "exotic" strain. The results of all of these experiments were made available to current and prospective forest mushroom growers through multiple workshops and demonstrations, and a variety of extension publications. Participants in these workshops received hands-on training in mushroom cultivation and marketing. In 2010, the success of this project served was used to leverage to obtain a 3 yr. NE SARE-funded project in collaboration with the University of Vermont, that that goes beyond isolated workshops by provide a 3 year program during which farmers are trained to grow shiitake commercially. During 2010 this MacIntire-Stennis project and SARE project worked together to conduct introductory and advanced workshop at several locations in NY, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania. Several experienced commercial shiitake growers are involved as trainers, and multiple extension publications have resulted from the project. PARTICIPANTS: Mudge, K.W. Department of Horticulture, PI, Research Coordinator Ochterski, J. Cornell Cooperative Extension Educator, Green County, NY. Conducted marketing survey Brinkman, R., Department of Horticulture, Cornell University. Research technician Putzke, T., Department of Horticulture, Cornell University. Research technician Grace, J. Department of Horticulture, Cornell University. Graduate student Devilliers, A., Department of Horticulture, Cornell University. Research and extension assistant Whittaker, C., Research assistant and Field mycologist. Collaborators Kathie Hodge, Department of Plant Pathology, Cornell University Peter Smallidge, Department of Natural Resources, Cornell University Training or Professional Development Michael Roberts, Undergraduate Intern, Department of Natural Resources, Cornell University Kimberly Wieman, Undergraduate Intern, Department of Landscape Architecture, Cornell University J. and S. Rockcastle, Green Heron Growers, Panama, NY, farmer cooperators Syrigck, S. Hickory farms, Trumansburg, NY, farmer cooperator Laskovski, N. Dana Forest Farm, Waitsfield, VT, farmer cooperator NE SARE, Research and Education funding ($116,000), 2010-2012. TARGET AUDIENCES: Forest and woodlot owners (approximately 150) from throughout Central NY, Vermont, and New Hampshire Commercial shiitake growers in NY and VT and other NE states. Undergraduate student at Cornell University PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Co PI, Peter Hobbs, was unable to participate as much as anticipanted, but project objectives and goals were accomplished non the less.
Impacts
Based on experimental comparisons of 7 different substrate tree species we learned that, contrary to conventional wisdom, both beech and musclewood produced greater mushroom fresh weight than Red oak, and that aspen is a very poor substrate. These findings will encourage growers to make profitable use of tree species that are otherwise of little commercial value, and felling these trees for use as mushroom logs and the results in thinning of the stand improves overall forest health. Another widely held perception is that loss of moisture from mushroom logs is a major limiting factor to production, but we found, based on monitoring log moisture content (LMC) over 4 years, that LMC is not correlated with mushroom production for any of the 4 tree species tested in Expt. 1. This finding will compel growers and future researchers to look for other causes of interspecific differences among substrate tree species. It is a widely held belief that cutting trees for shiitake logs must be done in early spring, limiting growers to a narrow window for inoculating. Surprisingly in our experiment logs cut and inoculated in the fall produced more mushrooms than in winter, spring or summer. With this understanding, growers can benefit from greater flexibility in scheduling farm tasks. The experimental comparison of different strategies for controlling contaminating fungi has only 1 year of data, but so far we find that the abundance of the parasitic fungus, Hypoxolyon, was negatively correlated with shiitake mushroom FW. Tree species, and log stacking height both had significant effects on FW, while inoculum density did not. These results suggest that contaminating fungi are not effectively managed by the methods tested in this experiment. The lion's mane experiments were very encouraging in that they suggest that this fungus has considerable potential for commercial production. The fact that locally-collected strains of this fungus out performed better than "exotic" commercial strain, suggests that the difference is due to their better adaptation to local environmental conditions, such that the source of lion's mane spawn should be carefully considered by prospective growers. Another important accomplishment of this research project was the completion of a mushroom marketing study by an expert in marketing non timber forest products. More than 60 potential buyers were interviewed for insights regarding forest-grown mushroom purchasing preferences. Interviewees included food service professionals, chefs, farm market consumers, etc. Findings include: a preference for more robust flavored species. Assurance that the mushroom is not poisonous. Packaging to maintain product freshness. Less common forest-grown mushroom types are in demand. Pricing for forest-grown mushrooms is higher than most other retail mushrooms.
Publications
- Mudge,KW, E Gallagher, and R Brinkman, 2011, Effect of tree species and log moisture content on forest cultivation of Shiitake mushrooms, 12th North American Agroforestry Conference,June 6-8, 2011
- Grace,J, KW Mudge and R Brinkman, 2011, Lions Mane mushrooms as a new crop for forest farming, 12th, North American Agroforestry Conference June 8, 2011.
- Grace, J. 2009. An evaluation of local isolates of Hericium americanum for use in mushroom production, MS Thesis, Cornell University.
- Mudge,KW, B. Jameson and Allen Mattews, 2011, Cultivation of Shiitake Mushrooms as an Agroforestry Crop for New England, Research Guide. NE SARE Project: LNE10-298, (http://mushrooms.cals.cornell.edu/Final_2011_Shiitake_Book%5B1%5D.pd f)
- Jameson, B., KW. Mudge and Allen Mattews, 2010, Shiitake Mushroom Cultivation, NE SARE Project: LNE10-298 (http://mushrooms.cals.cornell.edu/Final_2011_Shiitake_Booklet.pdf)
- Ochterski, J. 2010, Selling Forest-Grown Mushrooms: Customers, Qualities, Opportunities, Cornell Cooperative Extension, Green County, NY. (http://mushrooms.cals.cornell.edu/Final_2011_Shiitake Marketing.pdf)
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Progress 10/01/09 to 09/30/10
Outputs
OUTPUTS: Since the beginning of this project in 2008, six experiments involving forest cultivation of gourmet mushrooms on logs are underway. Typically logs do not begin producing mushrooms until the second growing season after inoculation. Mushroom production data was collected during 2010, on the four experiments begun in 2008 and 2009. The first experiment, begun in 2008 was a follow up to an earlier experiment initiated in 2006 (previous Hatch project), on the effect of substrate tree species on Shiitake mushroom production. In the 2006 experiment, four tree species were compared: red oak, red maple, American beech, big tooth aspen. In the follow up experiment initiated in 2008 the tree species were red oak, sugar maple, muscle wood (Carpinus), and hop hornbeam (Ostrya). Another experiment begun in 2008 was a comparison Lion's Mane mushroom production from 3 different isolates collected from sporocarps found growing in the wild in local forests, and one commercial (exotic) strain. In 2010, first year production data was collected from two different experiments initiated in 2009 1) effect of seasonal timing (Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall) of log inoculation on Shiitake mushroom production, and 2) effect of stacking (aeration) in the laying yard and inoculation density on development of (undesirable) secondary (contaminant) fungi on Shiitake mushroom production. In the spring of 2010, two experiments were initiated including 1) The effect of production system (bolt vs. totem) and tree species (American beech and big tooth aspen) on Lions Mane mushroom production, and 2) Effect of irrigation methods (sprinkler, 2 hour soak every 2 weeks, un irrigated control) on Shiitake mushroom production. As with earlier experiments initiated in 2008 and 2009, the most recent experiments begun in 2010 served the dual purposes of research and extension through the vehicle of an annual event called Camp Mushroom. Participants in this event learn about mushroom cultivation through hands-on practice at inoculation of substrate logs that are used to populate the experiments described above. Camp Mushroom was also used as an opportunity to disseminate results of ongoing research to the participants (prospective growers). Several other activities served to convey results of this research to, and encourage adoption by the public. These include public events at the MacDaniels Nut Grove where visitors learn about Shiitake mushroom cultivation and other forest farming non timber forest crops. In 2010, a NE SARE-funded project was launched in collaboration with the University of Vermont, to train prospective mushroom farmers over a three year period to develop income-generating Shiitake farming enterprises. SARE project activities include dissemination of ongoing research findings arising from this MacIntire-Stennis project. During 2010 the SARE project involved introductory level workshop at 5 locations (3 NY, 1 VT, 1 NH), followed by advanced workshops at each of 3 locations (2 NY, 1 VT). Four experienced commercial Shiitake growers are directly involved in this project as Farmer Advisors. PARTICIPANTS: Ken Mudge, is the PI for this project as well as PI for a complementary NE SARE project, Cultivation of shiitake mushrooms as an agroforestry crop for New England (2010-2012). Others directly involved in the project include Rachel Brinkman, Research Technician for the project, Alyssa Devillers Research Assistant involved in research and associated extension events, Liz Burichter, an undergraduate intern (professional development), Carl Whittaker, involved in mycological and other aspects of the project including collection of wild isolates of Hericium. Three commercial Shiitake mushroom farmers are involved in both this project and the NE SARE project, with on-farm research and hosts for field visits by prospective mushroom growers. These farmers include Steve Sierigk (Hawk Meadown Farm, Trumansburg, NY), Nick Laskovski (Dana Forest Farm, Waitsfield, VT), Steve and Julie Rockcastle (Green Heron Farm, Panama, NY). Allen Matthews (Center for Sustainable Agriculture, Univeristy of Vermont), CoPI on the SARE project, works closely with this project, on incorporating research findings for farmer outreach. Jeane Grace and Peter Hobbs serve as advisers to this project. Marguerite Wells is Web site manager (http://mushrooms.cals.cornell.edu/index.htm), TARGET AUDIENCES: The target audience for this project include farmers with woodlots and other private forest owners who are considering or interested in the agroforestry system known as forest farming, which includes Shiitake mushroom cultivation. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Peter Hobbs, who was CoPI on the original proposal for this project is no longer actively involved, but instead serves as a project adviser.
Impacts
Forest cultivated Shiitake mushroom logs normally begin fruiting after 1 year or more, and continue producing for 3 or more years. Hence in 2010 we collected second year data from the experiments initiated in 2008. In the first of these experiments (4 substrate tree species) red oak and the less common musclewood (Carpinus) performed about the same and both produced more mushrooms than either sugar maple or hop hornbeam (Ostrya). Taken together with the tree species comparison experiment begun in 2006, we have been recommending to growers that oak and beech are both acceptable choices for shiitake production. Although in 2010 musclewood performed as well as oak trees of this species in the necessary 4 to 8 inch diameter range are less common in Northeastern forests, compared to oak or beech. Furthermore, a taste evaluation was conducted by Steve Sierigk, a farmer collaborator on this project, comparing mushrooms collected from the 4 tree species and mushrooms grown indoors on sawdust. Judged by a panel of 20 tasters, all log grown mushrooms were superior to sawdust grown mushrooms but there was no consistent difference among the red oak, sugar maple, and hop hornbeam grown mushrooms. On the other hand, mushrooms grown on musclewood logs were judged inferior to all the others. Taken together these mushroom production results and the results of the taste evaluation provide grower with useful information for deciding what tree species to grow Shiitake mushrooms on. This information is already being used by participants in the aforementioned SARE project, who will be inoculating 100 logs of whatever tree species they choose, in the Spring of 2011. Results of the other experiment initiated in 2008 have established that Lions Mane mushrooms can be grown in sufficient quantity and quality to justify commercial production, and that locally isolated strains are more productive that the exotic commercial strain tested. With this information, growers can consider growing Lions Mane mushrooms as a compliment to Shiitake; thereby gaining the production and economic advantages associated with crop diversification. These finding will be disseminated to growers involved in the SARE project and via our Northeast Forest Mushroom Growers Network web site (http://mushrooms.cals.cornell.edu/). Preliminary results from the first production year of the seasonal inoculation experiment (Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall) initiated in 2009 indicate that Spring, which is widely believed to be the best season to inoculate logs, is not the only acceptable time. 2010 data from this experiment have shown that both winter and summer inoculation are successful as well. These findings will be useful to grower who would rather inoculate either earlier (Winter) or later (Summer) than conventional Spring inoculation. All of these results will be on display at the next Camp Mushroom training workshop, at upcoming SARE project events, public demonstrations at the MacDaniels Nut Grove and elsewhere, and on our website.
Publications
- Mudge, K.W. 2010. Forest Farming, Arnoldia, 67(3): 26-35.
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Progress 10/01/08 to 09/30/09
Outputs
OUTPUTS: Several experiments are underway at Cornell's Arnot Teaching and Research Forest involving forest cultivation of gourmet and medicinal mushrooms. Two of these have been set up during this first year of the project as described in the original Macintire-Stennis proposal. These include 1) Effects of seasonal timing on shiitake mushroom production, and 2) Management strategies for contaminating fungi. In addition to these two recently initiated experiments we have, several long term ongoing experiments originally initiated during an earlier (2005-2008) Hatch project. During this most recent growing season, from these older experiments we have obtained data, not previously available, that allow us to draw conclusions based on our original hypotheses. These experiments include 3) Comparison of different tree species as substrates for shiitake, oyster, and lions mane mushrooms, 4) Evaluation and comparision of locally collected isolates of the lions mane mushroom, using three different production systems. Beginning with the first experiment (seasonal timing), logs of American beech and of red oak were harvested in February, May, August, and October of 2009 from the same forested location each time. At each harvest time 20 logs of each species were inoculated with shiitake spawn approximately 2 weeks after tree cutting. Logs of all four treatment times are incubating in the same laying yard under uniform conditions, and mushroom fruiting is expected during the summer of 2010. The second experiment initiated during 2009 is the evaluation of management strategies for controlling contaminating fungi which can colonize shiitake logs and reduce production of the latter. This experiment was set up in April, 2009 using a unique hybrid of research and extension. Annually for the last 4 years we have held an event called Camp Mushroom, in which participants gain experience through hands on learning by helping us to inoculate logs that are used for our experiments. In April 2009, with the help of workshop participants, we set up 60 logs each of sugar maple and of beech for the contamination experiment. Of each tree species, one third of the logs were assigned to each of 3 treatments including, A-frame stacking, laying on the ground (control), and double inoculation with shiitake spawn. We expect fruiting from these logs to begin during the summer of 2010. Also during 2009 we initiated and completed several experiment comparing the performance of 5 wild, locally collected isolates of the lions mane fungus with one commercial isolate using an indoor sawdust bag production system. A parallel experiment inoculated Spring 2008 involved comparison of the same Lions mane isolates outdoors using a totem log production system. Results were obtained from both experimental systems allowing us to compare not only isolate performance but also different productions systems. The results of all these ongoing experiments are made available to the public on our web site, Northeast Forest Mushroom Growers Network, at workshops (Camp Mushroom). PARTICIPANTS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. TARGET AUDIENCES: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts
Shiitake mushrooms growing outdoors on normally begin fruiting after 1 year or more. Hence, the 2 experiments we set up during 2009 are still in the incubation. We can be expected to begin mushroom production during the summer of 2010. None the less, public involvement in setting up the experiment in April 2009 has contributed to public education about forest farming. Results of the long term (2006-2009) experiment comparing multiple trees species inoculated with 3 different fungi allow us to draw several important conclusions. First shiitake performed better than either oyster or lions mane mushrooms, regardless of tree species. Because of the low mushroom production from the later 2 fungi, only the shitake results are robust enough to draw statistically significant conclusion regarding tree species. Red oak is generally considered the gold standard for shiitake, so it was surprising to find that American beech, particularly in the 2009 season, produced significantly more mushrooms than red oak. Production on red oak and red maple were not significantly different, and surprisingly, practically no mushroom production occurred on big tooth aspen. The finding that beech performed as well or better than oak and the other tree species should have a significant impact on forest owners considering taking up shiitake cultivation. Oak is a valuable timber species so many forest owners are reluctant to cut it, or have no or limited numbers of oak on their forest. On the other hand beech, red maple and poplar, are considered undesirable weedy species with little or no timber value and often they are over abundant of forest land. Hence our finding that beech performs better than oak could have an important impact on a forest owner decision to grow shiitake or not. Throughout this experiment we have been monitoring the moisture content of the logs involved in this experiment, hypothesizing that low mushroom production would be associated with low log moisture content (LMC). This has proven not to be the case, as we have shown that the moisture content of all the logs in this 3 year experiment stayed relatively high and was not correlated with mushroom production. Unexpectedly, we found that the standard method for determining LMC is unreliable and misleading since it assumes a constant log dry wt. over the productive life of the log, and typically shows a precipitous loss of moisture over time. In fact our results suggest that log dry wt. decreases over time due to respiratory CO2 loss, and through mushroom harvest. Only a direct fresh and dry wt. measurement of a portion of a production log gives a reliable measure of LMC over time. However the usual practice of removing a cookie (one inch thick disk cut from the end of the log) is destructive of mushroom substrate particularly if it is repeated several time. We have been investigating several non destructive methods, including increment coring, for measuring LMC, and find that this correlates well with the cookie method. Hence this relatively inexpensive approach could give growers more reliable information about LMC in order to make decision about log management (shade, irrigation, etc.)
Publications
- Mudge, K.W. 2009, Northeast Forest Mushroom Growers Network, http://mushrooms.cals.cornell.edu/
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