16
IRELAND
All Ireland & UK Mushroom Conference and Trade Show 2013
On 17 October, the Hillgrove Hotel in Monaghan formed the venue for the biennial conference and trade show for the Irish mushroom sector. Growers and suppliers from the whole of the UK were also expressly invited to attend this edition.
By John Peeters and Roel Dreve
The trade show in the Hillgrove hotel seemed modest, but the exhibitor field offered a good impression of the major suppliers to the Irish mushroom sector. The continental contingent was formed by Christiaens, MushComb, Champfood, Limbraco, Vullings and Mushroom Business. The conference was roughly divided into two sessi- ons, both in the afternoon and with a break for coffee in between. The sessions were opened by politicians Tom Hayes and David Small, representing the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland respectively. Hayes stressed the importance of acting as one in the market place, stating that the Irish government will continue to allocate funds to mushroom growing. “A green Ireland for food production”. David Small’s address reflected the day’s programme, whereby he emphasised rene- wable energy and creating employment in the sector.
Mush TV Helen Grogan from Teagasc, representing MushTV, then kicked off the technical session with a summary of the research and results of the pan-European studies
being performed under the name MushTV. MushTV is a consortium running a three-year project (2012-2015) to investigate Mushroom Virus X (MVX) and Trichoderma in mushroom growing with the aim of discovering solu- tions that can be implemented directly on mushrooms farms and compost facilities. MushTV is an EU-funded initiative supported by 17 project partners from Ireland, the UK, the Netherlands, Belgium and Poland. The num- ber one priority is tracing and identifying Mushroom Virus X, for what is Virus X precisely? According to Grogan it is a possible complex of 17 viruses that are new to the scientific world. In the short term MVX will be easier to trace, and stress has not been proven to trigger the virus during cultivation. What is apparent is that an infection during filling phase III compost can cause serious symptoms. This means that hygiene plays a vital role as the disease can be spread in this phase. Regarding Trichoderma Agressivum, a form of green mould, the MushTV research programme will lead in time to composters being able to identify an infection while the compost is in the tunnels, which will be a huge advance.
Helen Grogan spoke on pests and diseases that affect mushrooms.
Thomas Martin (CMP), Padraic O’Leary (Walsh), Mel O’Rourke (Sylvan) and Paul Wilson (Monaghan) made up the panel during the Industry Session.
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