Sunflower Seed Hulls as an Alternative Substrate for Shiitake

CURVETTO, N.R.; R. GONZÁLEZ MATUTE; D. FIGLAS; S. DELMASTRO

Mushroom Growers´ Handbook 2: Shiitake Cultivation

Mushworld

Lugar: Seul; Año: 2005; p. 119 - 124

Sunflower seed hull (SSH) constitutes about 18-20% of the processed seeds. Its chemical composition makes it an attractive material for growing microorganisms, but the high lignin content limits the possibility of rapid biodegradation. The white rot fungi, basidiomycetes, are considered as the primary agents in nature for lignin degradation. Shiitake (Lentinula edodes) produces enzymes capable of degrading cellulose and hemicellulose and oxidizing lignin. It was therefore logical to launch experiments using sunflower seed hulls as an alternative substrate for shiitake cultivation.  In order to evaluate the mycelial colonization rate on different SSH substrate formulations containing different additives, a linear growth test was used and best formulas were evaluated for growing shiitake. It was concluded that, SSH can be used as a substrate for growing shiitake using the following formulation: 37.5% SSH, 0.5% calcium carbonate, 2% calcium sulfate, 60% water and pH 6.