Three Pleurotus mushroom species cultivated in a mixed Phragmites australis substrate differ in nutrient utilization capacity

Phragmites australis (common reed) distributed in brackish or saline wetlands, with significant ecological and economic values. Cultivating edible fungi is an exciting and developing field in reed utilization, and proven to be a viable technology. However, it remains unclear how nutrient utilization efficiency differs between mushroom species. Globally, Pleurotus ostreatus is the easily and most bagged cultivated mushroom. Therefore, three Pleurotus species were used to investigate the nutrient utilization of reed. A 2-year cultivation experiment was conducted during which three mushroom flushes were obtained. A significant difference in fresh weight was only found in the first harvest of the three mushroom species. A comparison of fruit quality characteristics of the first flush revealed the highest levels to be as follows, respectively: fresh weight in P. ostreatus (57.4%), total sugar content in P. eryngii (69.0%), and crude protein (28.3%) and amino acids levels in P. citrinopileatus. Glusate and histidine were the main amino acid components in P. citrinopileatus. Besides, iron and zinc could be heavily enriched in P. ostreatus. Heavy metals were the highest in P. ostreatus, but they were below the National Food Safety Standards. Generally, P. ostreatus had the highest biological efficiency, while P. eryngii had the highest carbon utilization and P. citrinopileatus had the highest nitrogen utilization efficiency.