Determination of the effects of vermicompost as casing soil on yield and quality of button mushroom (Agaricus bisporus)

The consumption of cultivated mushroom species is increasing day by day due to their high quality and digestible protein and low fat content. Accordingly, production is also increasing. Button mushroom (Agaricus bisporus) is the most cultivated mushroom species in the world and in Türkiye. Peat is used as a casing material in the cultivation of this mushroom species. However, due to the decreasing of peat resources worldwide, alternative casing materail research is needed. Therefore, vermicompost was tested as an alternative to peat as casing material in this study. In addition, the effect of adding calcium chloride to irrigation water to increase mushroom firmness was also investigated. The study was carried out in the mushroom cultivation rooms of the Horticulture Department of Çukurova University (Adana, Türkiye). In the experiment, A. bisporus was used and the applications were only peat + tap water (U1), only peat + 0.15% calcium chloride (U2), only peat + 0.20% calcium chloride (U3), only vermicompost + tap water (U4), only vermicompost + 0.15% calcium chloride (U5), only vermicompost + 0.20% calcium chloride (U6), 50% peat : 50% vermicompost + tap water (U7), 50% peat : 50% vermicompost + 0.15% calcium chloride (U8) and 50% peat : 50% vermicompost + 0.20% calcium chloride (U9). During the research, cap diameter, cap height, stipe length, stipe diameter, mushroom firmness, nitrogen, ash, potassium and phosphorus measurements were carried out on mushroom samples. Mycelial development could not be provided in the use of only vermicompost. Different results were obtained from other applications. Keywords: Agaricus bisporus, Casing material, Vermicompost, Calcium chloride