Control of bacterial yellowing of cardoncello mushroom Pleurotus eryngii using acetic or hydrochloric acid solutions

•Acetic acid solutions (69.9 and 87.4 mM) prevent yellowing of Pleurotus eryngii.•Treatments with 1.3 and 1.6 M hydrochloric acid solutions prevent P. eryngii yellowing.•Pseudomonas “reactans” was associated to yellowing affected basidiomata.•Acetic acid or hydrochloric acid treatments reduce microbiota found in casing soil.•Treatments also reduced diffusion of Cladobotryum dendroides and Trichoderma spp.

Yellowing or bacteriosis is the most severe disease of Pleurotus eryngii, the mushroom commonly called “cardoncello” or “Ferula mushroom” in Italy. Two cropping cycles were performed with five commercial strains, to find out how acetic acid or hydrochloric acid solutions can be used to prevent or stop the disease. Pseudomonas “reactans” and other fluorescent Pseudomonads were consistently isolated from symptomatic basidiomata. The Colony-Forming-Units of total bacteria, fluorescent Pseudomonads and fungi, found in casing soil at the end of both experiments, were significantly lower in substrate bags treated with either of the two acidic solutions. This research showed that treatments with acetic acid – and to a lesser extent hydrochloric acid solutions – can reduce the spread and severity of P. eryngii yellowing.

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