Production and investment evaluation of oyster mushroom cultivation on the waste dendromass: a case study on aspen wood in Slovakia

This paper addresses the processes and investment evaluation of utilizing available dendromass in an easy and close-to-nature way under Central European conditions in Slovakia. Wood of the European aspen (Populus tremula L.) that has generally been considered of little economic value was efficiently used as a growth medium for the oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus (Jacq.) P. Kumm.). The production of the fruiting bodies of this mushroom were evaluated for 5 years under natural forest conditions. The evaluation focused solely on aspen wood, specifically, the most valuable part – the trunk. The investment assessment revealed the high economic value of the fruiting bodies of the oyster mushroom inoculated into aspen wood blocks for the period of five years. In particular, the results of the net present value (NPV?=?347.78 €/m³) as well as the profitability index (PI?=?1.63) and discounted payback period (DPP ≈ 2 years and 8 months) point to the high profitability of such a project under the given conditions. The results could be helpful and inspiring for forest and garden owners when deciding how to utilize low-value waste dendromass, low-quality aspen wood and other tree species in small-scale forest management.