Abstract
A new variety of mushroom was produced by cross-breeding Pleurotus eryngii and Pleurotus nebrodensis. When single basidiospore isolation was performed, 40 strains of monokaryon were obtained from each of the parental dikaryotic strains. The monokaryon was crossed using 1600 combinations. Nine dikaryotic strains were selected based on mycelial characteristics on plate medium and cultivation tests on cedar sawdust medium. There was no correlation between the mycelial growth rate on plate medium and the fruiting yields on cedar sawdust medium. Cultivation tests were performed multiple times on two selected strains, ON26 and ON27, and ON26 was confirmed to have superior stability. The average yield of ON26 was 155-160 g and the growth period was 13 days. ON26 did not require low-temperature incubation after completion of the mycelial running, which is usually necessary in P. nebrodensis cultivation, and the cultivation period of ON26 was almost identical to that of P. eryngii, while retaining the pale color of the pilei surface. The hybrid strain ON26 of P. eryngii and P. nebrodensis was selected as a new type of mushroom.
