Most species of Pleurotus are edible. Especially, the oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus) is widely cultivated. An increasing yield through magnetic fields could be economically interesting. The mycelium was exposed at different magnetic flux densities (5, 15, 25 and 100 mT) and for different time periods (2, 5 and 15 minutes).
two pairs of cylindrical coils, each formed of 4,000 turns of 0.42 mm enamelled copper wire; each coil was wound 10 cm apart on an iron bar; two bars were placed one above the other
Exposure of the mycelium resulted in significantly increased numbers of pin heads and mature mushrooms as well as wet and dry masses in comparison to the control group. Especially, the combinations 5 mT for 15 minutes, 15 mT for 15 minutes, 25 mT for 15 minutes and 100 mT for 2 minutes showed superior effects. No significant difference was found in the duration until pin heads appeared between the exposure groups and the control group. The authors conclude that exposure of mushroom mycelium to extremely low frequencymagnetic fields could be used practically to obtain higher yields.
