using vermicompost in casing soil for button mushroom (agaricus bisporus) cultivation

casing soil is one of the most important indicators of button mushroom production, which has a direct impact on the size and performance. due to the easy availability of resources for the production of vermicompost this mix can be used alternative of peat to button mushroom production. this study was conducted with nine treatments and three replications in¬¬ a completely randomized design at the faculty of agriculture, university of guilan in 2013. different treatments were prepared before and after leaching vermicompost (worm waste) in combination with peat in ratio of (0:100), (25: 75), (50:50), (75:25) and (100:0). all treatments incorporate vermicompost and peat due to adhesion and high electrical conductivity could be a viable alternative to peat. the results showed that the treatments were washed vermicompost alone or in combination with peat, are suitable for production casing soil technology. although different treatment don’t show any significant differences on yield but leached vermicompost lead to increasing number of mushroom and reduction two days from casing to harvest and decrease dry matter content of mushroom.