Effects of Blue and Green Light-Emitting Diode (LED) on the Vegetative and Reproductive Growth of Black Jelly Mushroom (Auricularia auricula-judae)

Abstract

Light is an essential source during the cultivation of mushrooms, which significantly affects the productivity of black jelly mushrooms (Auricularia auricula-judae) in both vegetative and reproductive growth. The application of a light-emitting diode (LED) is proven to be beneficial in several plants and mushroom cultivation. This study focused on the effects of blue and green LED treatments on the vegetative and reproductive growth of black jelly mushroom. During vegetative and reproductive stages, mushroom bags were exposed to three conditions, Control (without LED treatment), blue LED and green LED. The LED treated mushroom bags showed a slower vegetative growth rate compared to the control. However, exposure to Blue LED during the reproductive stage tends to be the most effective treatment among all the LED treatments as it took the least time for pinhead emergence (26.2 to 32.6 days), and green LED shortened the time for fruiting bodies formation (17.0 to 19.4 days). Based on the yield of fruiting bodies, exposure to blue LED during the reproductive stage also resulted in a maximum yield (302.4 g) with a larger mushroom size (13.56 cm). In conclusion, the application of LED during the vegetative stage is unnecessary, but the application of blue and green LEDs during the reproductive stage could improve the growth and yield of black jelly mushrooms.