New record of Auricularia in Thailand and optimization of different agricultural substrates for the cultivation of Auricularia

This study reports both the introduction of a new record and additional cultivation results for mushrooms of Auricularia. We have collected and established a new record of the strain MFLU24-0195 from the province of Chiang Mai, Thailand. Characterisation of this strain was based on morphological characters and DNA sequence data. Phylogenetic analyses indicate that the new strain clustered with Auricularia fibrillfera with a strong bootstrap, indicating the need for a new record to be introduced. For cultivation, two different Auricularia cornea strains and one strain of A. fibrillfera were tested on different agricultural substrates. The results showed that both A. cornea and A. fibrillfera grew well in sawdust + corn cob (A. cornea strain 1 (MFLUCC18-0346):290.87±17.62, A cornea strain 2 (MFLUCC18-0347): 280±16.54, and A. fibrillfera strain (MFLUCC24-0224): 265.97±17.45 g respectively). The first primordia were observed at 14±3.05, 15±3.21, and 15± 3.45 days, respectively. Our results therefore indicate that corn cobs can be considered for the cultivation of Auricularia.