The cultivation of Agaricus bisporus was investigated with two commercial strains, A15 and W192. Nitrogen and lignocellulose were analyzed in absolute amounts based on mass balance to accurately compare the degradation efficiency of the compost, and the correlation between the degradation efficiency and extracellular enzyme activity of the mycelium was analyzed. Lignocellulose utilization efficiency positively correlated with mushroom yield. For the same strain, the compost with high lignocellulose content resulted in high utilization efficiency, which increased the yield of A. bisporus. For the same compost, the lignocellulose utilization efficiency of A15 was higher than that of W192. The activities of manganese-dependent peroxidase and β-glucosidase indicated that W192 may have a higher demand for lignin and cellulose. Therefore, a higher yield of W192 was obtained with high-lignocellulose compost. The metabolism of cellulose and hemicellulose in the mycelial growth stage seemed to be conducive to high mushroom yield.
Keywords: A15 and W192; Agaricus bisporus; enzyme activity; substrate utilization.