Peat-based casings have been used for button mushroom () cultivation for decades but there is environmental pressure to find sustainable alternatives. This work aimed to characterise the physicochemical properties of peat and peat-substituted casings and to determine their influence on mushroom cropping to enable alternatives to be identified. British milled peat and German wet-dug peat casings produced smaller mushrooms than Irish wet-dug peat casing although yield was unaffected. Substitution of milled or wet-dug peat casings with 25% v/v bark, green waste compost or spent mushroom casing, except Irish wet-dug peat casing with spent peat mushroom casing, caused reductions in mushroom yield and/or size. These poorer results of casings compared with Irish wet-dug peat casing corresponded with lower water retention volumes at matric potential (Ψ) −15 kPa but not after drainage from saturation or at −1 kPa. Air-filled porosity (17–22% v/v), compacted bulk density after drainage (670–800 g L) and electrical conductivity (0.30–0.54 mS cm) of casings were unrelated to their mushroom cropping performance. casing measurements with electronic tensiometers confirmed laboratory casing physical analysis: at the same casing Ψ, Irish wet-dug peat casing had a higher water content than German wet-dug peat casing and produced larger mushrooms for the same yield. Solid-state foam-based tensiometers were more robust than water-filled tensiometers but they did not detect the full decrease in casing Ψ during a flush of mushrooms. The results indicate that if sustainable materials are to replace wet-dug peat casing with the same mushroom yield and size quality performance, they should have equivalent water retention volumes at Ψ −15 kPa. Measurement of casing Ψ with electronic tensiometers to control mushroom crop irrigation should assist in this transition.

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肠衣的理化特性与蘑菇（双孢蘑菇）种植性能的关系

几十年来，泥炭肠衣一直用于蘑菇栽培，但面临寻找可持续替代品的环境压力。这项工作旨在表征泥炭和泥炭替代肠衣的物理化学特性，并确定它们对蘑菇种植的影响，以便确定替代品。英国磨碎泥炭和德国湿挖泥炭覆土产生的蘑菇比爱尔兰湿挖泥炭覆土小，但产量不受影响。用 25% v/v 树皮、绿色废物堆肥或用过的蘑菇肠衣替代磨碎或湿挖的泥炭肠衣（爱尔兰湿挖泥炭肠衣与用过的泥炭蘑菇肠衣除外）导致蘑菇产量和/或大小减少。与爱尔兰湿挖泥炭覆土相比，覆土的这些较差结果与基质势 (Ψ) -15 kPa 下的较低保水体积相对应，但在饱和排水后或在 -1 kPa 下则不然。肠衣的充气孔隙率（17-22% v/v）、排水后压实堆积密度（670-800 g L）和电导率（0.30-0.54 mS cm）与其蘑菇种植性能无关。使用电子张力计进行的覆土测量证实了实验室覆土物理分析：在相同的覆土Ψ下，爱尔兰湿挖泥炭覆土的含水量高于德国湿挖泥炭覆土，并且在相同产量下能产出更大的蘑菇。基于固态泡沫的张力计比充水张力计更坚固，但它们没有检测到蘑菇冲刷过程中套管 Ψ 的完全下降。结果表明，如果可持续材料要取代具有相同蘑菇产量和尺寸质量性能的湿挖泥炭覆盖物，则它们应在 Ψ -15 kPa 下具有等效的保水体积。用电子张力计测量套管 Ψ 来控制蘑菇作物的灌溉应该有助于这一转变。