Effects of cold stimulation on primordial initiation and yield of Pleurotus pulmonarius

• We model the change of substrate temperature with stimulus time.
• Increasing stimulus time will enhance initiation and yield at the same temperature.
• Time and temperature × time are the two major factors that affect initiation and yield.
• The best performance was recorded following a 12 h cold stimulation at 5 °C.

The most important step in the cultivation of Pleurotus pulmonarius under high-temperature conditions is the cold stimulation of mature mycelium. During the summer (>28 °C), fully colonized cultivation bags may be stimulated to uniformly produce a flush mushroom after a certain degree of cold stimulation. The present study assesses the performance of mushroom initiation and yield by cold stimulation of P. pulmonarius. Various combinations of temperature and time were examined in a factorial design, in order to determine the most appropriate cold stimulation temperature treatment. In the experiments, it was shown that the substrate temperature in the bags decreased as the stimulus time increased according to the equation substrate temperature = c + a × e−b×time, at all four stimulus temperatures covered. The increase in stimulus time enhances (p < 0.05) the density of pinheads, yield per bag and number of mushrooms per bag. According to ANOVA analysis, time and the interaction of temperature × time of the cold stimulation treatment were the two major factors influencing density of pinheads, yield per bag and number of mushrooms per bag, meanwhile, temperature was the major factor significantly influencing yield per bag and its stability. The best performance among the 12 treatments was recorded following a 12 h cold stimulation at 5 °C. The findings of this study suggested that an appropriate cold stimulation may enhance the performance of the primordial initiation and yield of P. pulmonarius cultivation during the summer season.