According to Japanese farmers specialized in harvesting mushrooms, in areas where lightnings are frequent the mushroom production is multiplied. Up until now it was some kind of legend and it was not confirmed, as lightnings don’t fall every day. Researchers at Iwate University have been trying for years to see if the belief of the farmers has a scientific foundation or not. And it turns out that it has, Japanese folklore is right, after applying electric discharges of up to 10,000 volts to mushroom crops, the volume of mushrooms is multiplied by a factor of up to two in the best case.
Shiitake is one of the species that yields better results, it is one of the most harvested mushroom species in Japan and its production could be multiplied simply by applying electric discharges. Many Japanese farmers are now wishing that lightnings fall on their shiitake crops 🙂
It’s still not well known the exact reason that causes this strange phenomenon, but one of the causes being considered is that the mushrooms react to the lightning to assure their survival against a menace (a lightning or an artificial electric discharge). The same team of researchers is now trying to see if the same methods yield the same result with radishes and beans. If you have some crops in your garden you can now go and try this Japanese technique to see if it works 😉
Source: Physorg
2 replies on “Harvesting mushrooms with 10,000 volt discharges”
Actually, lightening puts nitrogen into the soil, oddly enough!
Lot of fungi need that to thrive, so maybe that’s why they spring up in greater numbers! 😀
well the people that grow their own mushrooms in their homes can apply a jolt to their mushrooms