Internal Stipe Necrosis
Internal Stipe Necrosis was recognised in the late 1980s and early 1990s as a significant emerging threat to the United Kingdom mushroom industry.
With the A. bisporus wholesale market at the time valued at around £250 million, losses of up to 10% were reported by some United Kingdom mushroom producers with one grower estimating the incidence of Internal Stipe Necrosis on his farm totalled 0.3% of mushrooms harvested at the button stage and 5.6% of mushrooms harvested at the open, flat cap stage.
Internal Stipe Necrosis has been observed sporadically on Australian mushroom farms over the past 10 years or so and its appearance is consistent with the widespread adoption of wetter and heavier black peat as a significant component of mushroom casing.
The disorder expresses as an unsightly browning and necrosis of internal stipe tissue which cannot be detected before harvest, resulting in significant loss of quality.
