Subject: Companion culture?

From: [email-masked] (MZieg1234)
Date: 6 Feb 1995 20:45:42 -0500

Mushroom cultivators are supposed to be secretive about successes but I
would
like to report something interesting. About a month ago I wrote about the
possibility of combining two different mushroom types in the same bag and
called it "companion culture." The idea was that the combination of an
easy
fruiter and difficult fruiter would be -well- fruitful.  The presence of
competition or transfer of chemical/physical factors might induce
primordia
in the recalcitrant species. Nobody responded and I have not seen anything
in
the literature but it seemed a reasonable hypothesis. I have had no luck
with
Grifola frondosa in the past- an occasional aborted primordia. In tests
this
month once again control bags showed no primordia but in 50%(believe me
this
is gigantic improvement) of the bags with two species have nicely
developing
Grifola fruitbodies! Curiously the second species is not producing
fruitbodies?  I am a scientist and know that many more tests need to be
done
and it all could be coincidence. I am currently repeating the tests and
perhaps the results will be different. I am truly hesitant to even send
this
note because of my academic upbringing but wouldn't mind if somebody tried
repeating this on a small scale if they have the time or inclination. It
could be of some importance economically for growing both Grifola and even
other species. Some of you full timers must have tried this?  I can't
quite
bring myself to say what the other species are just yet but two worked and
I
have a feeling it is not too critical.  <:) Mike Ziegler

---

From: [email-masked] (Richard Winder)
Date: Tue, 7 Feb 1995 22:30:20 GMT

In article <[email-masked]>, 
[email-masked] (MZieg1234) writes:
>would like to report something interesting. About a month ago I wrote about the
>easy fruiter and difficult fruiter would be -well- fruitful.  The presence of
>primordia in the recalcitrant species. Nobody responded and I have not seen anything
>in the literature but it seemed a reasonable hypothesis. I have had no luck
>with Grifola frondosa in the past- an occasional aborted primordia. In tests
>this month once again control bags showed no primordia but in 50%(believe me
>this is gigantic improvement) of the bags with two species have nicely
>developing Grifola fruitbodies! Curiously the second species is not producing
>done and it all could be coincidence. I am currently repeating the tests and
>this note because of my academic upbringing but wouldn't mind if somebody tried
>quite bring myself to say what the other species are just yet but two worked and
>I have a feeling it is not too critical.  <:) Mike Ziegler

    I imagine Paul Stamets will have something to say about this.  It is
 pretty well known that bacteria, when introduced at the proper time, can help
 promote fruiting body development of cultivated mushrooms.  The fungal
 yeast Rhodotorula glutinus has been used to trigger basidiospore
 germination for various mushrooms.  Bacteria have been implicated as
 symbionts with Chantrelles.  There are people I know who hope, some day,
 to study the whole succession of fungi that attack tree stumps, and how they
 interact with each other.  So your findings aren't out of line- there are 
 probably all kinds of interactions going on.  Many multiple-fungus cultures 
 exhibit various degrees of antagonism- and competitive stress
 leading to the formation of sclerotia or fruiting bodies is one of the
 effects.  In producing morel primordia on agar plates, I have noticed
 that contamination by the fungus Fusarium, if it occurs at such a point
 that the whole culture is not swamped with contamination, seems to
 enhance the development of larger sclerotia and primordia.  I know you were 
 hoping for mushrooms for both fungi, but I think its great you've got at 
 least one of them going.
 -RSW

  RICHARD WINDER                    Title: Research Scientist
  Canadian Forest Service           Phone: (604) 363-0773
  Victoria, B.C.                    Internet: [email-masked]