Farmer-Led Evaluation of Accessible Environmental Automation to Improve Mushroom Yield Consistency

Commodities

• Miscellaneous: mushrooms

Practices

• Crop Production: greenhouses
• Energy: energy conservation/efficiency

The proposed solution is to implement and evaluate a set of affordable environmental control tools across four greenhouse types to determine which structures and control strategies produce the most stable, year-round mushroom yields under Georgia's climate conditions. By testing automated versus manual control in both insulated and conventional greenhouses, this project will generate clear, measurable data on the impact of low-cost environmental automation on mushroom yield consistency.

To address Objective 1, automated environmental controllers will be installed in selected greenhouses to maintain humidity, CO₂, and temperature within species-appropriate thresholds for lion's mane and oyster mushrooms. Continuous hourly environmental data will be collected using HOBO MX1102 CO₂/Temp/RH data loggers, a research-grade yet relatively affordable device (approx. $600-$650 each), chosen for their accuracy, wireless data download capability, and durability in high-humidity environments. These sensors were selected specifically because they are accessible to small and mid-scale farms, require minimal technical expertise, and allow growers to make data-informed adjustments without investing in industrial climate-control systems.

This equipment contrasts sharply with industrial mushroom fruiting rooms-fully sealed, automated systems that often exceed $75,000-$150,000 per unit, depending on size and capacity. Such systems involve integrated HVAC, CO₂ scrubbing, HEPA filtration, and PLC-driven automation, making them impractical and financially inaccessible for most producers in the Southern SARE region. By contrast, the tools implemented in this project can be added to existing greenhouse structures and retrofitted onto common small-farm setups, making the research findings directly applicable for growers seeking incremental, affordable improvements.

To address Objective 2, four treatment conditions will be evaluated: insulated-automatic control, insulated-regular control, conventional-automatic control, and conventional-regular control. Environmental fluctuations and mushroom yield data will be collected from 20 logs per species per greenhouse every two weeks, for two full seasons. To clearly measure outcomes, three categories of data will be collected:

1. Environmental Stability Metrics
   
   
   • Hourly temperature, CO₂, and RH
   • Mean, variance, and frequency of excursions outside ideal ranges
   • Comparative analysis across the four greenhouse treatments
     
     
2. Yield and Productivity Metrics
   
   
   • Total weight (g) harvested per log every two weeks
   • Yield variability over time within each treatment
   • Species-specific performance (lion's mane and oyster mushrooms)
     
     
3. Performance Comparisons Across Treatments
   
   
   • Whether automated control reduces yield fluctuations compared to manual control
   • Whether insulation level contributes to greater environmental stability
   • Interaction effects between structure type and control method
     
     

Statistical analyses-including ANOVA for yield and MANOVA for environmental conditions-will determine whether automated control in low-cost structures can meaningfully reduce yield fluctuations compared to manual management. Successful outcomes will be defined by: (1) lower variance in temperature, humidity, and CO₂ under automated control; (2) increased consistency in mushroom yield across sampling periods; and (3) statistically significant improvements in at least one of the automated-control treatments.

This research will be conducted at Ellijay Mushrooms, a Certified Organic, Primus-certified commercial mushroom farm in Ellijay, Georgia, operating ten controlled-environment greenhouse structures of varying ages, insulation levels, and foundation types. Four active fruiting houses will be selected for this experiment to represent diverse structural conditions common among Southern mushroom farms: (1) an insulated greenhouse with automated controls, (2) an insulated greenhouse with manual controls, (3) a conventional/non-insulated greenhouse with automated controls, and (4) a conventional greenhouse with manual controls. Each structure measures approximately 130' × 28' with five to six tiers of shelving and houses 8,000-10,000 active fruiting logs at any given time. These houses provide a real-world testing ground for evaluating performance of affordable environmental automation across distinct production environments.

Experimental Design
The study will evaluate two factors-greenhouse structure (insulated vs. conventional) and control method (automated vs. manual)-across four treatment groups. Automated houses will be equipped with humidity controllers, CO₂ sensors, thermostatic switches, and HOBO MX1102 CO₂/Temp/RH data loggers. Manual-control houses will continue using the farm's existing system where airflow, misting, and ventilation adjustments are made based on grower experience and daily observations.

Two mushroom species-lion's mane (Hericium erinaceus) and oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus spp.)-will be monitored in each treatment. A fixed set of 20 logs per species per greenhouse (160 logs total) will be tagged and maintained in consistent locations within each grow house, ensuring comparable exposure to airflow patterns, humidity gradients, and temperature zones. The selection of 20 logs per species is based on grower input, log availability, and the need for adequate replication to detect differences in yield stability.

What Will Be Measured
Three categories of data will be collected:

1. Environmental Conditions (Hourly):
   

• • Temperature (°F)
  • Relative Humidity (%)
  • CO₂ concentration (ppm)
  • Frequency and duration of deviations from species-appropriate thresholds

These measurements will be captured using (2) HOBO MX1102 loggers placed within each greenhouse.

2. Mushroom Yield (Biweekly):

• • Fresh weight (g) per log, per species
  • Yield stability measured through variance across collection periods
  • Incidence of aborted pins or malformed fruiting bodies

Yield will be recorded using an NSF-certified digital scale.

3. System Performance Metrics:

• • Comparison of automated vs. manual control responses to daily and seasonal temperature swings
  • Frequency of grower intervention required in manual houses
  • Identification of environmental "drift" patterns in each greenhouse type
    
    

These measurements directly address both research objectives: improving yield stability and evaluating the ability of low-cost automation to maintain environmental thresholds.

Materials and Tools

• HOBO MX1102 CO₂/Temp/RH data loggers (8 units, two per house)
  
  
• Humidity controllers and thermostatic control units (for automated houses)
  
  
• CO₂ sensors and ventilation triggers
  
  
• Tagged lion's mane and oyster logs from the farm's standard production process
  
  
• Digital scales for accurate biweekly yield measurement
  
  
• RStudio (Posit) for statistical analysis
  
  
• Standard sanitation supplies, log tags, and identification markers
  
  

All equipment selected is compatible with small-farm greenhouse structures and is readily available at accessible price points ($150-$650 per component), ensuring scalability for typical Southern mushroom growers.

Data Collection Procedures
Environmental data will be downloaded every two weeks during log sampling using Bluetooth-enabled connections. Mushroom yield data will also be collected every two weeks by harvesting only mature mushrooms from the tagged logs and recording fresh weight. Logs will remain in their assigned positions for the duration of the study to minimize confounding spatial effects.

Sampling will continue for two full growing seasons (June 2026-October 2027) to capture seasonal extremes-particularly summer heat, which historically creates the greatest production challenges. Preliminary data reviews will occur in October 2026 and March 2027 to ensure data quality and identify any needed protocol adjustments.

Data Analysis Methods
All environmental and yield data will be analyzed using RStudio. Analysis will include:

• Descriptive statistics: means, ranges, and variance of environmental metrics and yields
  
  
• Homogeneity of variance testing: to assess yield stability within each treatment
  
  
• Two-way ANOVA: to examine the effects of greenhouse structure, control method, and their interaction on mushroom yield
  
  
• MANOVA: to analyze differences in combined environmental outcomes (temperature, RH, CO₂) across treatments
  
  
• Time-series visualization: to show environmental fluctuations and yield patterns over the full study period
  
  

Success will be measured by:
(1) reduced environmental drift in automated vs. manual greenhouses;
(2) lower yield variability over time in automated treatments; and
(3) statistically significant differences between the four greenhouse treatments.

Interpretation and Expected Conclusions
Interpreting results will focus on determining which greenhouse/control combinations produce the most stable environmental conditions, which in turn correlate with more consistent mushroom yields. The analysis will identify whether affordable environmental automation can reduce labor needs and increase year-round production reliability. Conclusions will be framed as practical recommendations for Southern mushroom growers, including cost-benefit considerations and infrastructure modification strategies.