Hungarian-developed technology can help mushroom cultivation

The consortium of the university and Új Champignons Kft. received more than 414.5 million forints for the project, which produces mulch through microbial recomposting of mushroom compost. Peat is primarily used for this purpose, but due to the depletion of mines and environmental damage, replenishment is becoming increasingly difficult, they wrote.

According to the announcement, the harvested mushroom compost, treated with a Hungarian-developed inoculant prototype, can be used as an alternative mulch based on mushroom cultivation experiments when mixed with peat. The process processes a large amount of waste generated in mushroom cultivation and recycles it back into production as a useful raw material, they wrote.

The total cost of the project, which will be completed at the end of 2024, exceeded HUF 595 million, according to the tender description published on the website of the National Research, Development and Innovation Office (NKFIH). The funding was provided by the call for market-driven research, development and innovation projects announced in 2020. 156 applications received support from the 59 billion HUF budget of the call.

The main activities of Új Champignons Kft., which deals with mushroom cultivation, are the production of compost and mushroom sprouts, the cultivation of fresh mushrooms and the production of canned mushrooms, according to its website.