We assessed the growth characteristics of Auricularia polytricha ‘Geoni’ cultivated in a simple greenhouse constructed of polyethylene (PE) without air conditioning (high temperature) and in an air conditioned mushroomhouse. The successful cultivation of A. polytricha ‘Geoni’ at high temperatures can reduce energy and facility investment costs. The comparison of growth characteristics of the fungi grown under the different temperature conditions revealed that fruit bodies were larger in the higher temperature condition, but were brighter in the lower temperature condition. Additionally, fruit body physiology was found to be not affected by temperature. In the PE greenhouse, the fresh weight of fruit body was higher in mid-June and early July. Therefore, it was possible to effectively control the growth period of the mushrooms during a high-temperature period. The findings indicate the potential to cultivate A. polytricha ‘Geoni’in a simple PE greenhouse that is not cooled in summer, thus reducing energy costs.

Auricularia polytricha has strong decomposition ability on wood fiber and a wide range of temperature adaptation as mid-high temperature mushroom. In addition, Auricularia polytricha does not require light in the mycelial growth period, but it is cultivated in the field because the light promotes the differentiation of fruiting bodies and affects the pigment formation. This study was conducted to investigate the possibility of the cultivation of Auricularia polytricha (Mont.) Sacc. "Geoni" which was bred at Jeonnam Agricultural Research Institute in 2012 at a simple-typed PE film mushroom house, and to compare the quality characteristics of the Auricularia polytricha (Mont.) Sacc. "Geoni" cultivated at air-conditioned mushroom house. Auricularia polytricha (Mont.) Sacc. "Geoni" was cultivated with sawdust-based media (0.9 kg) every 3 days from June 15 to July 13 at air-conditioned mushroom house and PE film mushroom house, and harvested until July 26th. The temperature and the humidity of the air-conditioned mushroom house was maintained at 23°C and 90-9 %. The Irrigation was conducted 1 time per day and 2 to 3 times per day at air-conditioned mushroom house and PE film mushroom house respectively. The harvesting period were the same for each treatment. The fruiting body was 6.0 ㎝ and 5.1 ㎝ in major axis and 4.6 ㎝ and 4.0 ㎝ in minor axis at PE film mushroom house and air-conditioned mushroom house respectively, as a result the size of the fruiting body grown at PE film mushroom house tended to be larger. The thickness of fruiting body was 0.85㎜ and 1.24㎜ at PE film mushroom house and air-conditioned mushroom house respectively. These results are considered to be due to the difference in the humidity control conditions between each treatment. The number of fruiting bodies per bag was 4.3 at PE film mushroom house and more tendency than 3.7 at air-conditioned mushroom house. The springiness of the fruiting body was 1.23 ± 0.21 and 1.01 ± 0.17. the chewiness was 620 ± 89 and 507 ± 128, and the resilience was 0.49 ± 0.03 and 0.35 ± 0.07 at PE film mushroom house and air-conditioned mushroom house respectively. As a whole, it was judged that the physical properties of the fruiting body grown at PE film mushroom house were excellent. Also, when comparing the chromaticity of fruiting body, L(lightness)-a(red color)-b(yellow color) value was 30-5.5-3.9 and 39-6.5-7.5 at PE film mushroom house and air-conditioned mushroom house respectively. The yields did not show differentiated tendency by cultivation time. However, the weight of fruiting body per bag was 308g and 252g at PE film mushroom house and air-conditioned mushroom house respectively. Therefore, according to these result, Auricularia polytricha (Mont.) Sacc. "Geoni" was judged to be a suitable cultivar at PE film mushroom house for summer.

Geoni, a new variety of Auricularia polytricha, was bred in JARES(Jeollanamdo Agricultural Research and Extension Services) in 2012. Geoni was selected through the monospore hybridization with JNM21008 and JNM21014 in 2010. Based on a performance test conducted from 2011 to 2012, the Geoni was selected from a line showing an excellent light brown pileus and strong pest resistance. Geoni has a favorable chewiness, light brown and smooth pileus. In addition, Geoni was rich in dietary fiber. MCM(mushroom complete medium), Malt and PDA(Potato Dextrose Agar) mediums were suitable for cultivating the Geoni. The number of effective stipes was 39 ea/0.9 kg and minor axis and major axis of pileus were 6.9 cm and 8.7 cm respectively. The yield of Geoni was 291 g/0.9 kg in plastic bag. Geoni was required 40~54 days for culture at 20oC and 24days for the primordia and growth period, which is longer than that of the control(Pung-un). Somatic incompatibility was formed between parental strains and Geoni. Analysis of the genetic diversity of the new variety "Geoni”revealed a different profile from the parental strains when RAPD(random Amplified Polymorphic DNA) primers were used.