ASHS 2025 Conference

Intercropping mushrooms with field-grown vegetables may provide farmers additional revenue without sacrificing bed space or investing in indoor production facilities. The King Stropharia mushroom (Stropharia rugosoannulata), also called wine cap, can colonize organic material, like woodchips or straw mulch, making it a good candidate for intercropping with vegetables that can be grown on organic mulches. However, no research has evaluated the impact of this strategy on the vegetable yield. This project seeks to evaluate the compatibility of intercropping wine-cap mushrooms with asparagus in woodchip mulch. A randomized complete block experimental design (RCBD) experiment was initiated in 2021, and data was collected during the 2022 and 2023 growing seasons. The trial evaluated two factors: intercropping – inoculated vs. non-inoculated and mulch depth – 0 in (control), 4 in, 8 in, and 12 in. Wine-cap mushrooms were successfully established in the inoculated plots. The woodchip mulch depth had no effect on the timing or overall yield and marketability of the mushrooms, although 4 in mulch produced a smaller proportion of small-medium, Grade 1 mushrooms resulting in higher average weight fruiting bodies compared to deeper mulch treatments. During the first spring harvest, wine-cap mushrooms were also observed on the edges of non-inoculated plots; therefore, we were unable to evaluate the effects of mushroom on asparagus growth. Woodchip mulch did not affect the date of first harvest or harvest duration in either year, except at 12 in depth, which delayed harvest and shortened the production season. Relative to bare ground, woodchip mulch only affected asparagus yield (by number or weight) at 12 in depth, which decreased the number and weight of harvested asparagus. In 2023, asparagus spears grown with 8 in non-inoculated woodchips weighed 80 % more, on average, than spears grown in 4 in and 12 in inoculated plots. While the experiment provides a proof of concept for intercropping wine-cap mushrooms with asparagus, further research is needed to determine whether intercropped mushrooms directly impact asparagus production.