Mushrooms: Cultivation, Nutritional Value, Medicinal Effect, and Environmental Impact

This new edition presents the latest cultivation and biotechnological advances that have contributed to the modernization of mushroom farming and the mushroom industry. It supplies each step in the complex mushroom cultivation process, exploring not only the "how" but also the "why". Professionals/scientists in related fields will obtain a much greater knowledge of the nutritional and medicinal benefits that mushrooms have to offer. This interdisciplinary approach will appeal to readers in a wide range of fields with its complete coverage of breeding, efficient cultivation practices, nutritional value, and medicinal/pharmaceutical utility."… [This book] forms a comprehensive and up-to-date source of information for all interested in edible and medicinal mushrooms and their cultivation."- Peroonia, 2004"...the personal practical experience, depth of knowledge, and enthusiasm of the authors shine in these chapters, which are to me the heart of the book..."- Mycological Research"If you are a mushroom enthusiast, you must have this complex book..." - Journal of Natural Products "To my knowledge, no past or current book comes closes to covering all the subjects considered in this book...- Solomon P. Wasser, in International Journal of Medicinal Mushrooms, Vol. 6"The authors provide the readers with complete information about mushroom species cultivated commercially, world production of mushrooms, and use of various agricultural and industrial wastes as substrates…Each valuable species of mushrooms is described in a thoroughly detailed manner. Several pages are devoted to each species with particular focus on the following subjects: Introduction, biological characteristics, requirements for mycelial growth, requirements for fruiting body foundation, cultivation methods, harvesting and processing, special cultivation practice, fruiting and liquid media (for same species), drying and storage, nutritional contents and medicinal properties (for same species), biological and compounds (for same species)…These chapters are very important. They contain complete information about modern cultivation and use of the most important culinary-medicinal mushrooms of the world. A very important conclusion for future readers can be found in the summary dedicated to species with regional appeal…The book is richly illustrated with more than 100 original photographs and figures. The book contains about 800 terms in the glossary, which is very useful, especially for amateurs and beginning scientists…The key difference between the new and the old version is that this latest edition has been expanded by more than 60%. Instead of eight chapters in the first edition, the new book contains 22 chapters…This is a well-written and thorough book…. I would strongly recommend this new edition of mushrooms without hesitation to industrial and medicinal mycologists, mushroom growers, botanists, plant pathologists, and professionals and scientists in related fields…. I will use this book extensively, both in teaching mycology to university students and in experimental work in my laboratory. The value of this book cannot be overestimated. The potentially extensive use of this book can be recognized in universities, classrooms, laboratories, etc. This book is useful for beginning students through PhD studies and beyond. This book is a real encyclopedia of mushroom biology including cultivation, nutritional value, medicinal value, and environmental impact."- Solomon P. Wasser, in International Journal of Medicinal Mushrooms, Volume 6