Stimulation of yield in the cultivated mushroom by vegetable oils.

Supplementation of mushroom compost at spawning and at casing with various refined and crude seed oils resulted in 1 to 1.5 lb/ft increases in mushroom yield. Supplementation at casing with ground seeds or protein-oil combinations caused 2 to 2.5 lb/ft increases in mushroom yield. Further evidence is presented for a relationship between lipid metabolism and the initiation of fruiting in the cultivated mushroom, Agaricus bisporus (Lange) Sing. Preliminary results suggest the possible involvement of sterols in the fruiting stimulation.