Increasing the Production Yield of White Oyster Mushrooms With Pulsed Electric Fields

Pulsed electric field (PEF) technology can be utilized to increase the growth rate and total yield and alter the nutritional composition of agricultural crops. We investigated the efficacy of PEF treatment on the Pleurotus Ostreatus white oyster mushroom species. Mushroom sawdust substrates in buckets were stimulated with a combination of two rod-to-plate electrode geometries with peak electric field strengths of 1.46 and 6.67 kV/cm through unipolar pulses with approximately 20 kV amplitude. Total electrical energy of 62.3 kJ (0.017 kWh) over 30 days of excitation was delivered to each mushroom bucket. The total yield of the stimulated group showed a 34% increase compared with the control group. The experiment was repeated, and the stimulated buckets showed a 45.5% increase in yield relative to the control. A proximate analysis of the fruiting bodies was examined postexcitation for the moisture, fat, protein, and ash content. The stimulated group shows a slight increase in mean crude fat and protein content compared with the control group. Furthermore, the grounding mesh electrode interface with the fruiting substrate was found to contribute to about 10% higher ash content compared with the control group.