Mushroom research
Mushroom research at AFBI Loughgall is directed towards strengthening competitiveness and promoting the sustainability of the local industry.
Key research priorities include:
Sustainable and competitive advantage
- Maximising composting efficiency
- Novel analysis to assess compost/casing quality and potential productivity
- Understanding factors affecting mushroom disease control
- Maximising Agaricus mycelial colonisation during Phase III compost production
- Optimising casing formulation blends and management
Minimising environmental impact
- Effective end of crop sterilisation
- Re-use of spent mushroom compost
- Peat substitution in casing and horticultural substrates
Safe, wholesome, quality food
- Reduced pesticide input
- Use of biocontrol agents for sciarid and phorid flies
- Understanding environmental factors that trigger disease expression
- Whole process quality assurance and Industry production standards
Collaborations at National and International level have also been developed over many years fostering close links between policy makers, scientists, composters, mushroom producers and major Industry stakeholders. Effective knowledge transfer is a key priority at AFBI –Loughgall and active involvement in Industry conferences ensures direct access to results and best practice publications for sustainable mushroom production .
MushTV
“MushTV” is an excellent example of one strategic alliance where interested parties from Ireland, United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Belgium and Poland came together to work with the main providers of mushroom research to focus on Trichoderma and Virus, two major problems for the industry in an EU FP7 project. Disease control had been compromised in recent years by the withdrawal of key pesticides and disinfectants and this project provided research-based solutions for the mushroom industry to deal with these two relatively new major diseases affecting production (Mush TV publications).
Contact: Mushroom research group