Subject Research guide
Mycology and Mushroom Production

Find Books | Find Articles | Encyclopedias | Dictionaries | Reference | Statistics | Evaluating | Citing | Internet

Contact

Amy Paster
Head, Life Sciences Library
im: aglibrarian4
phone: 814-865-3708

Top Resources

Books: The Cat
Journal Articles:
CAB Abstracts
AGRICOLA
Encyclopedia: Agropedia Internet Resource:
USDA Agricultural Research Service Systematic Botany and Mycology Laboratory

Related Guides

Crop and Soil Science
Plant Pathology
Entomology

Find Books:

Use The CAT for finding books owned by Penn State.

CAT Search Tips: The CAT is the list of what is owned by Penn State Libraries. Go to the Browse function if you are looking for a specific title or author (type last name first). Go to the Keyword function and combine terms to search on a topic then use the subject headings from relevant books for additional search terms. Write down the call number and location for any book you want. For more detailed searching information go to the Quick Guide to the CAT.

Suggested CAT Search Terms: Try searching for specific families of mushrooms or fungi (i.e. Boletaceai or Polyporaceae), diseases (i.e. bacterial blotch or brown rot), or concepts (i.e. spawn substrate or composting).

Call Numbers: At University Park, call numbes starting with Q, R, and S are located on the 4th floor of Paterno Library. General call numbers and subject areas are:

• QK600– Fungi
• QK617– Mushrooms
• RC117– Medical Mycology
• SB733– Fungus diseases of plants

Books Elsewhere: WorldCat

Libraries Borrowing Policies: Once you have the books, check them out at the nearest lending desk or self check-out station. Loan periods are usually four weeks but books can be recalled for another user, so respond promptly to library notices. For more information see the University Libraries Lending Code.

Find Articles:

Article Search Tips: Finding the best articles on your topic requires a number of steps:

• Select a database from the list below.
• Enter and combine terms appropriate to your topic.
• Look at the best references you retrieve and determine the subject terms used for those articles. Then revise your search using these new terms.
• Write down or print off all pertinent information (called the 'citation') including the journal title, volume, date, and page numbers.
• Explore other databases and subject terms (which vary between databases) for more information.

Databases To Use:

• Try These First if you want general popular interest magazines and newspapers or pro and con debate information.
• CAB ABSTRACTS is a comprehensive file of agricultural and biological references from over 8500 journals covering the agricultural engineering, plant sciences, animal sciences, entomology, forestry, soils and fertilizers.
• AGRICOLA is an agriculture database produced by the U.S. National Agricultural Library. It contains a wide bariety of plant science, entomology, agronomy, and horticulture information.
• Biological Abstracts. With over 5 million records, Biological Abstracts® is ideal for anyone interested in the life sciences. BIOSIS monitors more than 5,000 international journals to ensure that virtually every life science topic is covered, including agriculture, biochemistry, biotechnology, botany, ecology, the environment, microbiology, neurology, pharmacology, public health and toxicology.
• Biological and Agricultural Index is a general index to a number of scientific and popular journals including HortScience, Agronomy Journal and Pesticide Science.
• Dissertation Abstracts (dissertations) includes dissertations from most U.S. institutions.
• Web of Science (cited references) search for new articles which cite an older article by using the "cited ref" search mode.

Get the full text: Once you find the citation in a database, try the button to see if Penn State has the electronic or print version of the article you need. If the electronic version is available, it will appear as the first link on the Get it! menu. If the article is not available electronically, click on The CAT link to automatically search our catalog and see if Penn State has a print copy. If no other copy is available, you can use the ILLiad link to request it from another library.

Already have a citation? Use Citation Linker to see if Penn State has it online or in print!

Encyclopedias

• Agropedia is a compilation of agriculture encyclopedias, including the Encyclopedia of Crop and Plant Science, Encyclopedia of Soil Science and the Encyclopedia of Pest Management.
• Acccess Science is the online equivalent of the McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology.

Dictionaries

• Dictionary of the fungi 9th edition (QK600.35.A35 2001)
• Illustrated dictionary of mycology (QK600.35.U4513 2000)

Reference

• Descriptions of Fungi and Bacteria provides integrated information to allow identification / confirmation of identity of significant species, along with related information on pathology or other economic significance. (online source)
• Mycology reference cards (QK603.N69 2000). This is a set of 8 cards that can be used as study guides. Fungal Phylogeny, Ascomycota, Basidiomycota, Deuteromycota, Zygomycota, Chytriomycota, Oomycota, Slime molds.
• Kneebone Mushroom Reference Library - The Collection is comprised of books, journals, several Penn State mycology dissertations, and article reprints. There is a regional emphasis on materials from the Pennsylvania area.

Statistics

• Agricultural Statistics, United States Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C.. This is published each year and is a reference book on agricultural production, supplies, consumption, facilities, costs, and returns. For mushroom statistics search under "Statistics of Fruits, Tree Nuts and Horticultural Specialties".
• The CRB commodity yearbook. This book includes production, supply, exports, imports, price and futures information for agricultural and other commodities
• Census of Agriculture 2002 and Census of Agriculture, 1987, 1992, 1997 (courtesy of Cornell University). The census provides statistics by state, county and zip code.
• The National Agricultural Statistics Service provides access to some basic statistics and also links to their full text publications (mounted at Cornell University).
• Pennsylvania Agricultural Statistics Service also provides full text versions of their publications, including the annual statistical summary.
• The Economic Research Service of the USDA conducts research on trends in the agriculture and food sector. Many of their publications are now available online.

Evaluating Resources for Content

To evaluate print sources and web sites, you should ask a series of questions concerning the source’s currency, authority, validity, intended audience and bias. See this How to Evaluate Information site for details.

Citing Your Sources

When using information from another source you must give credit to the original author or you are plagiarizing. You give credit by citing the source. Make sure your citation contains everything you would need to backtrack and find the information again. It is best to pick one citation style and be consistent. Check this Quick Guide to Citation Styles for details and format.

Plagiarism, whether you copy a paragraph from a book or cut and paste someone else's words from an e-mail, is a violation of Penn State's academic integrity policy. See this Statement on Plagiarism and Academic Dishonesty.

Internet Resources

You can look for mycology information on the Internet by using one of the 'guides' listed below, or by using an Internet Search Engine like Google Scholar. Usually the search engines are most appropriate when you have a narrow, specific information need. For example if you were looking for information on cultivation of shiitake mushrooms or spawn production. If you are just looking for information on a general topic such as, edible mushrooms or diseases of mushrooms a subject guide is most appropriate.

USDA Agricultural Research Service Systematic Botany and Mycology Laboratory. Research emphasis is on plants of economic importance and fungi, as biological control agents to reduce the need for chemical inputs in sustainable agriculture and as pathogens that threaten the production of a safe and abundant food supply.

Penn State Mushroom Spawn Laboratory. Here you can find Mushroom Fact Sheets, links to other mycology sites, culture collections, and information on spawn, spawning, and spawn growth.

WWW Virtual Library: Mycology. This site is maintained by an assistant professor of plant pathology at Cornell University. There is information about taxonomy, identification, cultivation, directories of mycologists and mycology labs, guides and suppliers.