In this MushroomLink podcast, Stuart discusses the strategic use of drip irrigation with AHR’s own mushroom grower Umberto Calvo. Umberto has conducted trials with a similar system at the March Lawson Mushroom Research Unit. With the potential to improve later flushes and even create nutritionally enhanced mushrooms, our panel discuss the mixed challenges and solutions offered by drip irrigation for mushrooms.

Podcast hosted by Dr Jenny Ekman, AHR.

Stuart Whitehall from Nutrigain has been working with mushrooms almost his entire life. Growing up on a family farm, he earned his pocket money selling spent compost from the tender age of 9. Over several decades in the industry he has both witnessed and driven a host of innovations, from spawn production and trading to biological pest control with nematodes. Stuart has now diversified into nutritional supplements, including the delivery of liquid solutions through drip irrigation systems.

Umberto Calvo from AHR graduated in 2018 from the Università di Torino in Italy, and recently came to Australia to explore agricultural sciences in a completely different environment. With experience in Precision Viticulture in Spanish wine regions he is interested in precision and data-driven agriculture, remote sensing and horticulture crops. He is currently involved in a wide variety of projects from post-harvest avocado quality to mushroom growing techniques.

This podcast is part of the Hort Innovation funded project MU21003: Mushroom industry communications programme. It was funded through the Mushroom levy fund and contributions from the Australian Government.

Link to the website: https://www.mushroomlink.com.au/

The music for this podcast is "Mushroom Boy" by Qurtis, it is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/?ref=openverse

Aimee is a research scientist for Agriculture Victoria in the Microbial Sciences, Pests, and Diseases (MSPD) group. With expertise in microbial-based biopesticides (biorationals) for use in integrated pest and disease management (IPDM), Aimee’s research focuses on understanding how microbial agents work to control insect pests and pathogens when applied to growing systems, with the broader aim to determine synergistic management practices, and to optimise the delivery of biological control agents. Since 2022, Aimee has been reviewing and evaluating prospective biopesticide agents and formulations for their efficacy to control key pests and diseases of commercial mushrooms in Australia, with a focus on mushroom flies and the pathogens that they may vector.

This podcast is part of the Hort Innovation funded project MU21003: Mushroom industry communications programme. It was funded through the Mushroom levy fund and contributions from the Australian Government.

Link to the website: https://www.mushroomlink.com.au/

The music for this podcast is "Mushroom Boy" by Qurtis, it is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/?ref=openverse

In this podcast recorded at the 2024 ISMS congress, Dr Jenny Ekman chats to Eoin O'Connor, post-doctoral scholar at Penn State University, about his studies in Ireland, where he was inspired and mentored by Dr. David Fitzpatrick and Dr Helen Grogan, the latter of whom opened his world to mushroom science, and particularly virus X, and his current research in the Hockett lab.

This podcast is part of the Hort Innovation funded project MU21003: Mushroom industry communications programme. It was funded through the Mushroom levy fund and contributions from the Australian Government.

Link to the website: https://www.mushroomlink.com.au/

The music for this podcast is "Mushroom Boy" by Qurtis, it is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/?ref=openverse

In this podcast Dr Jenny Ekman chats to Dr Mark Loftus from Sylvan Spawn company.

Mark’s career commenced in Manchester, UK, where he obtained a PhD and then completed a two-year post doc in human genetics.

So how did Mark go from human to mushroom geneticist? What is mushroom genetics anyway, and how can understanding mushroom genetics help strengthen the industry?

In this fascinating discussion, Mark explains the very hard work behind identifying mushroom markers, isolating genetically distinct strains (no kissing cousins here!) and the characteristics they are looking for in white and brown mushrooms.

This podcast is part of the Hort Innovation funded project MU21003: Mushroom industry communications programme. It was funded through the Mushroom levy fund and contributions from the Australian Government.

Link to the website: https://www.mushroomlink.com.au/

The music for this podcast is "Mushroom Boy" by Qurtis, it is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/?ref=openverse

Dr Jenny Ekman reads the article: Phorid ecology and management, from the 5th issue (winter 2023) of the MushroomLink magazine.

Click here to read the article

Click here to read the entire 5th issue.

This podcast is part of the Hort Innovation funded project MU21003: Mushroom industry communications programme. It was funded through the Mushroom levy fund and contributions from the Australian Government.

Link to the website: https://www.mushroomlink.com.au/

The music for this podcast is "Mushroom Boy" by Qurtis, it is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/?ref=openverse

Dr Jenny Ekman reads the storing chemicals safely article from the 3rd Issue (Summer 2022) of the MushroomLink magazine.

Read the article here

Read the entire 3rd Issue here

This podcast is part of the Hort Innovation funded project MU21003: Mushroom industry communications programme. It was funded through the Mushroom levy fund and contributions from the Australian Government.

Link to the website: https://www.mushroomlink.com.au/

The music for this podcast is "Mushroom Boy" by Qurtis, it is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/?ref=openverse

In this episode, MushroomLink’s Dr Jenny Ekman chats with Dr Emma Beckett about the Hort Innovation project MU22006, Online resource for mushroom health & nutrition science for healthcare professionals.

Emma and the team at FoodIQ Global (Formerly Nutrition Research Australia – NRAUS) are creating the ‘go to place’ for credible and authoritative information on the health benefits of mushrooms. By showcasing the unique health benefits of mushrooms to health professionals, the project hopes to increase the number of practitioners ‘prescribing’ Agaricus mushrooms as a source of nutrition.

Emma discusses the value of a reliable resource created for health professionals by health professionals that goes beyond marketing grabs.

The website or ‘MUSHRoom’ will be a living resource that will be updated regularly as new information becomes available. By consolidating all credible information in once place, knowledge gaps will become clear and can be prioritised for further research.

To find out more visit the Hort Innovation project page here: https://www.horticulture.com.au/growers/help-your-business-grow/research-reports-publications-fact-sheets-and-more/mu22006/

Visit the FoodIQ Global website here: https://www.foodiq.global/

This podcast is part of the Hort Innovation funded project MU21003: Mushroom industry communications programme. It was funded through the Mushroom levy fund and contributions from the Australian Government.

Link to the website: https://www.mushroomlink.com.au/

The music for this podcast is "Mushroom Boy" by Qurtis, it is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/?ref=openverse

Erik de Groot - Consultant Mushroom Business

Following his recent trip to Australia, where he delivered training workshops to local growers, Erik de Groot took some time to chat with MushroomLink’s Dr Jenny Ekman.

From a childhood spent in a small village of only 4000 people (but with 15 mushroom farms!) – to becoming a sought-after global mushroom consultant working everywhere from Dubai to China, Europe, Australia, South America and the US – Erik has unique insights into how the industry differs from place to place.

In this podcast, Erik chats about the various approaches to mushroom production around the world, current trends and challenges, and where he thinks Australia sits regarding sustainability and quality (spoiler alert – Australian mushrooms are very good!).

Erik's trip to Australia and subsequent workshops were part of the Hort Innovation project MU22010 – Mushroom International Study Tours – Inbound and Outbound, funded through the mushroom levy and contributions from the Australian Government.

This podcast is part of the Hort Innovation funded project MU21003: Mushroom industry communications programme. It was funded through the Mushroom levy fund and contributions from the Australian Government.

Link to the website: https://www.mushroomlink.com.au/

The music for this podcast is "Mushroom Boy" by Qurtis, it is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/?ref=openverse