Using food residues (potato peels) as an alternative to potato dextrose agar in the growth of edible food fungi

Abstract

Due to the great importance of edible fungi, their rapid life cycle, and the possibility of their production throughout the year, their cultivation has become a vital resource that many countries depend on in their pursuit of economic growth and food security.  The present study aimed to devise a local nutrient media for primary mycelium growth of nine species of fungi belonging to Pleurotus eryngii , Pleurotus floridanus , Pleurotus ostreatus (white strain) , Agaricus heterocystis , Agaricus bispous (brown strain ), Agaricus bispous (white strain), Lentinula edodesstrain No. 1, Lentinula edodes strain No. 2, Flammulina velutipe (yellow strain) using culture mycelium inoculation for reproduction and production of edible fungi. Different natural materials used for this purpose involved potato peels in a concentration ranging from 5 to 20 g/ L and compared with the commercial medium Potato Dextrose Agar at a rate of 39 g/Land according to the manufacturer's instructions. The study also focused on the effect of physical factors such as temperature and pH on the growth rate of fungal mycelium. The results showed that the media prepared from potato peels at 5 g/L and 10 g/L concentrations achieved the best growth rate for the studied fungi compared to  Peptone Dextrose Agar (PDA). The increase in the growth rate of fungi on media prepared from potato peels was attributed to the effect of nutrients for the prepared medium because it contained effective and necessary compounds for the growth in addition to their ease of absorption and consumption to be ready for food for agricultural fungi.  The effect on the growth and production of edible fungi or any other type of fungi has not previously been studied and compared to the commercial medium PDA.