This document summarizes a presentation about the MUSHNOMICS project, which aims to optimize mushroom production through data-driven analytics. The project receives EU funding and involves partners from Ireland, Denmark, Hungary, and Romania. It will develop AI algorithms to predict mushroom yields, a digital platform to share data across the mushroom supply chain, and test an IoT-enabled modular farm unit. The goal is to lower costs and improve profitability in the mushroom sector through real-time production management and informed decision-making.

1. This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and
innovation programme under grand agreement no 862665 ICT-AGRI-FOOD.
MUSHNOMICS
Unlocking data-driven innovation for
improving productivity and data sharing
in mushroom value chain
Dr Dimitrios Argyropoulos
School of Biosystems & Food Engineering
University College Dublin
European Food Systems Education & Training Programme
(EFSET)
28th June 2021

2. 2
Dr Dimitrios Argyropoulos|
https://people.ucd.ie/dimitrios.argyropoulos/about
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0632-4634
Work Experience
• University College Dublin, Ireland
Nov 2019 – Assistant Professor, School of Biosystems & Food Engineering
• University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart Germany
Nov 2016 – Oct 2019: Scientific Coordinator, Research Centre for Bioeconomy
Nov 2016 – Oct 2019: Adjunct Lecturer, Institute of Agricultural Engineering
Background
• PhD Agricultural Engineering
• MSc Environmental Protection & Agricultural Food Production
• BSc Biosystems Engineering (Agricultural Machinery & Irrigation)
Research
• A particular research interest in the application of IoT and sensor technology to
enhance the operational efficiency of circular agri-food systems, from on-farm
operations right through to food and biomaterial processing.
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3. University College Dublin
Ireland’s Global University
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4. UCD at a Glance
UCD is ranked within the top 1% of higher education
institutions world-wide
https://www.ucd.ie/about-ucd/
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5. Colleges at UCD
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6. Our research
takes a holistic
approach to
future-proofing
global food
systems.
PRIMARY
PRODUCTION
SYSTEMS
INNOVATIVE
PROCESSING &
FOOD QUALITY
FUTURE-
PROOFING
GLOBAL
FOOD
SYSTEMS
NUTRITION
& HEALTH
© Dr. Dimitrios Argyropoulos/ 28-Jun-21 / Slide 6 6

7. FUNGI ARE NATURE’S
DECOMPOSERS
Erop Kamelev

8. MUSHROOM CULTIVATION
A REMARKABLE EXAMPLE OF SUSTAINABILITY

9. 10
AGRICULTURAL BY-PRODUCTS &
RESIDUES
Johny Goerend

10. 11
SUBSTRATE
PRODUCTION

11. 12

12. 13
MUSHROOM PRODUCTION
THREE MAIN PHASES
INOCULATION – INCUBATION –
FRUITING

13. Goal and context
• Commercial edible mushroom cultivation is a ‘big business’ world-wide with a total production
exceeding 27 million tons.
• A 25-fold increase during the last 35 years, which is combined with a high increase in the respective
per capita consumption.
• Pleurotus species are of particular interest because:
i. their production amounts to ca. 30% of the total, corresponding to the fastest growing and
most profitable section of the mushroom market.
ii. they are commonly grown on pasteurized wheat straw, however, they can also be cultivated
on a wide variety of agro-industrial residues and urban organic wastes.
• Substrate composition and environmental factors such as temperature, humidity, oxygen, carbon
dioxide and light are anticipated to exert an effect on mushroom yield.
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14. 16
Chang S.T. et al.
Environmental Factors
O2 (ppm)
Light (lux/h)
CO2 (ppm)
Temperature (°C)
Data must be collected and analysed in a systematic manner over the production processes along the mushroom
value chain in order to quantify the effects of different environmental schedules on mushroom yield.
https://grocycle.com/

15. Aim and objectives
The aim of the MUSHNOMICS project is to demonstrate the feasibility of dynamic data-
driven analytics for multi-domain mushroom production environments in order to optimize
yield, lower costs and improve the economic viability of this agri-food sector.
Specific objectives:
• AI Integration: Develop best-performing artificial intelligence (AI)-driven algorithms for
yield prediction of mushrooms in a prototype MUSHNOMICS Module with IoT devices for
real time production management and demonstration.
• Data Exchange: Develop the MUSHNOMICS Digital Platform to exchange data and
information from production to points of sale along the mushroom value chain.
• Innovative Business: Develop innovative business models based on the IoT-enabled
MUSHNOMICS Module for informed decision making by mushroom entrepreneurs.
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16. 1. Substrate inoculation
& incubation
3. Spent substrate valorisation
2. Mushroom production
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
MUSHNOMICS Digital Platform
Data storage,
computing &
process control
Feedstock: Various
agricultural
by-products & urban
organic waste
Product 1: Oyster mushrooms Product 2: Compost
Buckets with
substrate to grow
oyster mushrooms
Compost leachate
Spent mushroom
substrate
Integrate Analyse Visualise
MUSHNOMICS Module
IoT-based & environment-controlled
modular container farm unit
1 2 3
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MUSHNOMICS
Cloud
MUSHNOMICS Concept
• MUSHNOMICS Module
• MUSHNOMICS Cloud
• MUSHNOMICS Digital Platform
© MUSHNOMICS ICT-AGRI-FOOD

17. Research approach and activities
Workshops:
Stakeholder engagement
Case studies:
Mushroom chain dynamics
Software:
Algorithm development
Hardware:
Module design & installation
Stage 1: Module integration
& validation
Stage 2: Spent mushroom
substrate valorisation
PHASE 1: SOCIAL
INTERACTION
PHASE 2: SCIENTIFIC &
TECHNOLOGY
DEVELOPMENT
PHASE 3: PRODUCTION
TRIALS &
OPTIMISATION
MUSHNOMICS is a 36-month project that will be implemented in three phases
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© Dr. Dimitrios Argyropoulos/ 28-Jun-21 / Slide 20

18. MUSHNOMICS
• Coordinator: HS Holisun SRL (RO)
• Partners: 50-50 research-business split
• Countries involved: RO, DK, HU, IE
• Project duration (months): 36
• March 2021 – February 2024
• Total project costs (K€): 982
• Total requested budget (K€): 816
University College Dublin
Ireland
University of Copenhagen
Denmark
Pilze-Nagy Kft
Hungary
Holisun SRL
Romania
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Consortium
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19. Organisation of work
WP1 – Market
research and
value chain
analysis
WP2 – Data driven algorithm
development
WP4 – Mushnomics Digital Platform
Data integration in mushroom value chain
WP5 – Innovative business models
WP6 – Project Coordination, communication & dissemination
MUSHNOMICS Workflow
WP3 – Production trials and
optimization
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© MUSHNOMICS ICT-AGRI-FOOD
© Dr. Dimitrios Argyropoulos/ 28-Jun-21 / Slide 22

20. Dissemination and outreach
• Stakeholders
• Uptake of
results
• Outcome
• Results
• Goal
• Objectives
• Activities
Raise
awareness
Inform
Engage
Promote
Project
Months
Focus
Main objectives
0 - 18 Approach-oriented
• Presentation of MUSHNOMICS
objectives and expected results
• Promotion of the MUSHNOMICS
Module, AI-based solution and
MUSHNOMICS Digital Platform
19 - 36 Results-oriented
• Communication of intermediate and final
MUSHNOMICS results
• Dissemination of the results obtained
from production trials and the use of the
MUSHNOMICS Digital Platform
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21. TARGET
GROUPS
Mushroom growers,
IT companies,
entrepreneurs
Research and scientific
community
Policy makers
Networks,
associations, NGOs
• Workshops with growers
• Targeted media articles
• EIP-AGRI Practice abstracts
• Peer-reviewed articles
• Participation in conferences
• Side events at conferences
• Policy brief
• Engagement in EU level platforms
• Bilateral meetings
• Collaboration with relevant EU projects
• Platforms and working groups
• Participation in exhibitions, workshops
Dissemination and outreach
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COMMUNICATION
Press releases
Website
Bi-annual newsletters
Project brochure
Social networks
Specialized events
Final conference
© Dr. Dimitrios Argyropoulos/ 28-Jun-21 / Slide 24

22. Cooperation with Stakeholders / value chain
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© Dr. Dimitrios Argyropoulos/ 28-Jun-21 / Slide 25

23. Data Lake
FMS
Agronomic
Algorithms
Big Data Services
Information
Reports and Open
Data
Interoperability Enabler
Government
Agency
Adviser
Industry Processing Retailers
Farmer
Value
Chain
Big
Data
Analytics
Cloud
Computing
Internet
of
Things
(IoT)
Wireless Sensor Network
Decision
Support
Presentation Storage
Analysis
Paraforos (UHOH), modified
© Dr. Dimitrios Argyropoulos/ 28-Jun-21 / Slide 26
Digital Agriculture Ecosystem

24. Potential impact
Target 2.2: End all forms of malnutrition
Target 2.4: Sustainable food production and resilient agricultural practices
Target 11.6: Reduce the environmental impacts of cities
Target 12.2: Sustainable management and use of natural resources
MUSHNOMICS contributes to a smart and sustainable digital future for European agri-food and bioeconomy
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© Dr. Dimitrios Argyropoulos/ 28-Jun-21 / Slide 27

25. Partners / funders
This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grand agreement no 862665 ICT-AGRI-FOOD.
Partner Logo Country Funding Agency
Holisun SRL
https://www.holisun.com/
Dr Oliviu Matei
Romania
Pilze Nagy
http://pleurotus.hu/
Dr Adrien Nagy
Hungary
University of Copenhagen
https://www.ku.dk/
Dr Bhim Bahadur Ghaley
Denmark
University College Dublin
https://www.ucd.ie/
Dr Dimitrios Argyropoulos
Ireland
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26. LET’S KEEP IN TOUCH!
Please feel always free to reach out to us.
WEBSITE
https://mushnomics.org/
EMAIL
TWITTER - LINKEDIN
@mushnomics
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mushnomics-project-645668206/
Thank you for your attention!
dimitrios.argyropoulos@ucd.ie
contact@mushnomics.org