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Researchers in Nigeria have cultivated a wild mushroom species using sawdust, an agricultural waste product. This could help develop farming of local mushrooms in Nigeria and other parts of Africa, they report in a recent study. Lentinus squarrosulus is a wild mushroom that typically grows on decaying logs in wild habitats across tropical forests, including in eastern Nigeria. This mushroom is both edible and has medicinal value, and is at risk of becoming scarce in the wild because of habitat destruction. If domesticated, however, this mushroom could be an inexpensive and reliable source of protein, mushroom researcher Chiemeziem Agbonma Onyeka told Mongabay by email. “Mushroom farming in Africa is still developing,” Onyeka said.
“In many regions, there is still limited awareness that mushrooms can be cultivated as a reliable year-round agricultural crop rather than only collected from the wild during specific seasons.”
Onyeka set out to learn how to cultivate L. squarrosulus for her doctoral work at the Federal University of Technology in Owerri, Nigeria. Her goal was to find a way to provide a year-round crop that people could grow, reliably and safely, using waste as a growing material or substrate. Onyeka and her colleagues collected wild L. squarrosulus and tried cultivating them on sawdust from three different types of wood: mango (Mangifera indica), African breadfruit (Treculia Africana) and African pear (Dacryodes edulis).
Sawdust is a common byproduct of agriculture and forestry waste. The researchers found that L.
squarrosulus mushrooms grew fastest and generated the greatest number of fruiting bodies on the sawdust of the African breadfruit tree, followed by sawdust from mango wood. In Nigeria, mushrooms have received less research investment and support than staple crops, Onyeka said. “Nevertheless, there is growing interest in mushroom cultivation across the continent, particularly due to its nutritional value and ability to utilize agricultural waste.”
Onyeka said she hopes her success with cultivating L. squarrosulus can help spread commercial mushroom farming in Nigeria, but added that it will be a gradual transition. “The immediate focus is on refining and standardizing cultivation protocols to ensure reproducibility at scale,” she said.
“Engagement with farmers, extension systems, and private-sector partners will be essential for translation into commercial production.”
Onyeka’s advice for prospective mushroom farmers is to seek proper training, and build a strong foundation, including understanding the production process and hygiene required. Omoanghe Isikhuemhen, a mushroom expert from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, U.S., who wasn’t involved in the study, told Mongabay by email that the study leaves out an important metric of economic potential: biological efficiency. It measures the yield of fresh mushroom per unit of substrate used for cultivation. He said that the profitability and economic benefits of L. squarrosulus cultivation might be difficult to realize, depending on the biological efficiency of the cultivation process.
Banner image: Lentinus squarrosulus mushrooms. Image by Vengolis via Wikimedia Commons ( CC BY-SA 4.0 ). Credits
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