The new CEO, Hildo Brilleman.


has gradually expanded and supermarkets want to distinguish themselves by offering more organic products. And that is reflected in the demand for organic compost.” What undeniably remains a challenge for the Dutch sector is the substantial growth of


mushroom production in Poland to exceed that of the Netherlands. “But that’s natural market dynamics. Poland also goes through the pain of market cycles and, as a ‘mature’ industry, also has to find a market for its production, because just like the Netherlands, the country produces more than it consumes, “says Brilleman. Speaking of consumption, how does CNC view the European promotional campaign ‘The Hidden Gem’, which stops at the end of this year? Brilleman and Vos are optimistic: “We are talking about a relatively modest budget, but naturally, any form of promotion is always positive and effective! It is vital to ‘educate’ and inform a new generation of consumers about the benefits of mushrooms. The question now is whether and how the campaign will be continued and the role of supermarkets. There’s no doubt that our eating patterns are already changing and the promotional campaign responds to this. And newly emerging applications of mycelium, are other reasons for optimism.”


NEWS Irish peat replacement project T


iernaneill Mushrooms Ltd in Monaghan have been have been conducting trials, working with Harte Peat’s innovative non-peat mushroom casing. While earlier


experiments focused on small-scale tests, such as individual shelves within tunnels, this latest project has taken the leap to full tunnel application trials. The project aimed to develop the filling, growing, and harvesting techniques needed to produce mushrooms commercially using only peat-free casing across entire tunnels, paving the way toward fully peat-free farms. Over a 7 month period, 118 mushroom tunnels across 2 full farms, were cased with a non-peat material to experiment with growing conditions and evaluate performance (97 white mushroom crops and 21 brown mushroom crops). Throughout the project, water application emerged as the most variable and influential factor affecting results. The optimal amount of water depended heavily on factors such as casing mix consistency, weather conditions, and compost structure, resulting in significant variation across trials. Applying too much water caused it to run through the peat-free casing, as it couldn’t retain moisture like traditional peat. Too little water, on the other hand, led to overly dry casing, particularly by the second or third flush, potentially reducing both mushroom yield and quality. This challenge became


even more evident when growing brown mushroom, where uneven filling methods led to inconsistent water retention and consequently, large variations in yields. Chromelosporium fulvum commonly known as Cinnamon Mould was also observed more frequently in peat-free crops. This mould mainly affected pinning on first flushes, particularly where casings had been overwatered or compost temperatures ran too high. To reduce the risk, controlling compost temperatures was vital and water should be applied lightly but regularly to maintain consistent moisture without oversaturation. Despite a tough summer marked by warm weather, higher disease pressure, and variable compost quality, the peat-free trials produced mushrooms of good quality and excellent shelf life. Overall, the peat-free casing performed well, with some crops falling slightly below target yields while others exceeded expectations. • White mushrooms: +3% yield • Brown mushrooms: –2% yield These results highlight the strong potential of peat-free systems, even under challenging growing conditions. “We are incredibly proud of the results achieved and are hoping to widely disseminate our findings”, said Paul Bishop of Tiernaneill Mushrooms.


MUSHROOM BUSINESS 23


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