3 days ago
Exotic mushrooms grown using Queensland's sugarcane waste
Exotic Asian mushrooms are now being grown using a by-product from sugarcane processing.
Bagasse, the material left over after sugarcane has been processed, has proven to be a viable and productive growing substrate for Asian mushrooms.
"One [bagasse] bag, we can produce about 200 to 250 grams [of mushrooms]," exotic mushroom grower Simon Tang said.
"That's quite a good result in this industry."
Mr Tang grows premium Asian mushrooms across two farms at Park Ridge in Logan in south-east Queensland.
"We probably produce from 2 to 3 tonnes every week, including king, oyster mushrooms and shiitake mushrooms," he said.
The pandemic compromised output for Mr Tang's company Kenon Mushrooms, with import interruptions and delays.
The Asian mushroom spores and their growing substrate were imported from China.
"Normally the shipping container comes here [after] like 21 days, [but during the pandemic] maybe they take up to two months to come," Mr Tang said.
When imports were cancelled or delayed, production for Mr Tang's company ground to a halt.
"After that I [began] thinking maybe I need to think about [the company switching to] grow everything locally in Australia [because it] can protect your business [when it's] at risk," Mr Tang said.
Previous attempts to use locally sourced sawdust or cottonseed husk as mushroom substrates had failed due to difficulty sourcing and maintaining a consistent supply.
When Mr Tang discovered research to use sugarcane bagasse to grow Asian mushrooms, he was intrigued.
"I said, 'Whoa, that's quite a good idea' because in Queensland we got a lot of sugar on the farms," he said.
Since then, the Millaquin mill in Bundaberg has supplied Mr Tang's company with bagasse to grow exotic mushrooms.
Mill manager Lincoln Williams said the collaboration came about after Mr Tang contacted him directly.
"He sent me an email saying, 'Yeah this is what I'm looking at doing, growing mushrooms from bagasse … are you interested in supplying some?'
"So we went, 'Yep — no worries.' We had some spare," Mr Williams said.
All sugar mills run differently, but at the Millaquin mill bagasse is stockpiled on site and on a nearby farm too.
"Bagasse is the by-product after we squeeze out all the sugar juice out of it [the sugarcane]," Mr Williams said.
The mill is seasonal, coinciding with sugarcane harvesting, which generally starts during winter.
But even when it's not crushing season, the bagasse is still necessary for the year-long sugar refinery operation.
"We use every part of it that we can," Mr Williams said.
This wasn't always the case, but efforts to make sugar production more efficient over the years have prompted changes in the industry.
"If we have any excess stuff that we don't use that year we do sell it to some other companies that use it in mulch and things like that."
Using sugarcane bagasse to grow mushrooms is definitely outside of the ordinary.
CQ University researchers have led trials at Mr Tang's manufacturing facility, cultivating mushroom spores and developing different recipes using bagasse.
They've also mixed in other waste products, including peanut shells.
"It's definitely exciting," CQ University professor Delwar Akbar said.
"We are trying to understand what is the development impact of such an industry where the raw materials are close by, and how the supply chain will work in this area," Mr Akbar said.
Once the substrate bags are composed, they're injected with the mushrooms' spores before being stored in incubation rooms.
Mr Tang's bagasse bag manufacturing facility in Bundaberg, Queensland is currently producing up to 10,000 substrate bags a week.
"We've got the only bagging machine in Australia that produces bags without hand packing," factory manager Stephen Newbould said.
Mr Tang sells his exotic mushrooms at major markets in Brisbane and Sydney as well as to other local markets, Asian grocers and specialty restaurants.
But his hope is to supply bagasse grow bags to more people, to increase the number of mushroom growers.
"They can get mushroom bags from our factory, and then they can produce it in [their] local backyard to grow mushrooms. [It's] very easy," Mr Tang said.
The more growers he can support, Mr Tang believes, the better the Australian industry will become.
"You know, one thing is we give more people more choices, like a more healthy, more nutritious food choice."
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