SHIITAKE PRODUCTION IN CORNCOB SUBSTRATES

Abstract

Lentinula edodes (shiitake mushroom) is an edible mushroom of world importance that has been cultivated for thousands of years, first in China and then in Japan. Besides the ability to convert lignocellulosic materials into food with good flavor and texture, it also has medicinal properties and nutritional benefits to human health, that places it at the forefront of cultivated mushrooms. In Brazil shiitake cultivation currently most used is on logs of Eucalyptus species. Another method used for shiitake production is the synthetic bags cultivation, where the sawdust is the basic ingredient and more used in the formulations of substrate. This method has been shown to be a promising alternative in the conversion of agricultural and agro-industrial residues into highly nutritional food. So, other lignocellulosic residues, as straws and sugar cane pulp, and corncobs have potential to be used to shiitake cultivation. In the present study, L. edodes was inoculated in substrates based on ground corncob in the following combinations: 1) corncob (90%) + rice bran (10%); 2) corncob (45%) + eucalyptus sawdust (45%) + rice bran (10%); 3) corncob (50%) + eucalyptus sawdust (50%); 4) corncob (100%). The substrates were placed in polypropylene bags (1.5 Kg substrate/bag) and autoclaved for 90 min at 120^oC. Good mushroom production was observed in all treatments with greatest yield in combination 1. L. edodes cultivation was also assessed in whole corncob substrates (commercial corncobs and popcorn corncobs). The corncobs were tied into blocks, boiled in water and placed in polypropylene bags. From this cultivation methodology originated small mushrooms, a characteristic of commercial interest for the conserve industry and for specific markets that require different mushrooms patterns for commercialization. Corncobs, both ground and whole, can be an alternative for shiitake mushroom production from agricultural residue.