The secret to succesful shiitake mushrooms? Electric shock treatment

A few years ago, I attempted to grow my own shiitake mushrooms. I purchased a special log, which had been seeded with mushroom spores, and followed the instructions to soak it and then keep it in a shady spot. Sadly no mushrooms ever fruited on my log, but maybe I would have had more luck if I’d given my log an electric shock.

According to Japanese farming folklore, lightning makes mushrooms multiply. Previous research has demonstrated that there is some truth in this tale, and now scientists are closer to understanding why.

Koichi Takaki, from Iwate University in Japan, recreated the effect of a lightning strike by giving shiitake mushroom logs a high-voltage electric shock. The rapid rise in temperature increases the volume of air inside the log, creating a shock wave that vibrates through the log. “This moves the hyphae inside the log, breaking the strands and stimulating fruiting body formation,” explains Takaki.

Logs situated up to 3 metres away still benefited from the electrical shake-up, producing twice as many mushrooms than logs isolated from the electrical shock. And logs that received daily electrical shocks for a week did even better still. Now Takaki is trying to adapt his equipment so that mushroom farmers can benefit.

• Kate Ravilious is a science writer, @katerav