INTRODUCTION

Lentinulaeaoaes(shiitake)isapopularediblemushroominJapan.Recently,themainculti-
vationmethodhaschangedIrombed-logtosawdust-based,becausethebed-logmethodisnoteI-
IicientandrequiresaconsiderableamountoIhardlabor(Nakamura,1982).
Ingeneral,massproductionoIediblemushrooms,suchasFlammulinavelutipes(enokitake)
andPholiotanameko(nameko),hasbeenperIormedbybottlecultivation(Yamamotoetal.,2008).
Inshiitakemushroomcultivation,Watanabeetal.(1995)usedlargebottlesatthecultivationstage
andsucceededinobtainingbetteryieldsoImushrooms.Inthismethod,however,thebottlemust
beremovedattheIlushingstage,whichrequiresaconsiderableamountoIhardlabor.Inaddition,
astheIlushingportioncannotbecontrolled,thebottlecultivationmethodisnotsuitableIorshiitake
mushrooms.ThereIore,labor-savingoperationsandmethodsIorcontrollingtheIlushingportion
oIIruitbodiesmustbeimprovedIorthemassproductionoIshiitakemushroomsbysawdust-based
cultivation.
Inthepreviousstudy(Yamauchietal.,2009),wereportedthatnumberoIIruitbodiesIlushed
Irommycelialblockscouldbecontrolledbyexposingtohigh-temperatureconditionat27CIor7
daysbeIoreIlushingtreatment.Inaddition,IlushingportionoIIruitbodiesIrommycelialblocks
couldbealsocontrolledbyIillingupthewaterbetweenmycelialblockandcultivationbagduring
Vol.47,No.1(2009)

FruitBodyFlushingfromtheUpperPortionofMycelialBlock
inSawdust-BasedCultivationofLentinulaedodes
TakahiroYAMAUCHI*

**

***,SumioAYUSAWA**,KatsumasaEDA**,KazuyaIIZUKA***,
ShinsoYOKOTA***,FutoshiISHIGURI***andNobuoYOSHIZAWA***
*GraauateSchoolofAgriculturalScience,TokvoUniversitvofAgricultureanaTechnologv,
Fuchu,Tokvo183

8509,Japan
**EaibleMushroomsInstitute,HokkenCo.,Lta,Mibu,Tochigi321

0222,Japan
***FacultvofAgriculture,UtsunomivaUniversitv,Utsunomiva,Tochigi321

8505,Japan
(ReceivedFebruary26,2009)
Inthepresentstudy,toestablishanovelimprovedmethodIorthesawdust-basedcultivation
oIshiitakemushroom,high-temperatureandwater-IillingtreatmentsoImycelialblockwereap-
pliedIorcontrollingtheIlushingportion.Intheimprovedmethod,IruitbodiesIlushedonlyIrom
theupperportionoImycelialblocks.NumberandIreshweightoIIruitbodiesIlushedIromthe
mycelialblockcultivatedbyimprovedmethodshowedalmostconstantvalueduringtheIlushing
period(180days).Fromtheresultsobtainedinthisstudy,itisconcludedthatimprovedcultiva-
tionmethodmakesitpossibletogiveacontinuousIlushingoIIruitbodieswithheavyIresh
weight,leadingtoreducethecostandlaborIorbuddingandcroppingoperationoIIruitbodies.
Keywords:Ilushingmanagement,Ilushingportion,high-temperaturetreatment,moisturecon-
tent,water-Iillingtreatment
OriginalPaper
Environ.ControlBiol.,471,47

52,2009
Correspondingauthor:TakahiroYamauchi,Iax:81

282

82

6879,
e-mail:yamauchihokken.co.[p
Y.YAMAUCHIETAL.
Ilushingtreatment.
Theob[ectiveoIourstudyistoestablishanovelimprovedmethodIorthesawdust-basedcul-
tivationoIshiitakemushroom.Inthepresentstudy,IorIlushingtheIruitbodiesIromonlythe
upperportionoIthemycelialblock,high-temperatureandwater-IillingtreatmentsoImycelial
blockwereapplied.Inaddition,theeIIectsoIthesetreatmentsontheimprovementoItheyieldand
qualityoIshiitakeIruitbodieswereinvestigated.Fromtheresultsobtained,thepossibilityoI
mass-producingIreshshiitakemushroomsusingthenovelsawdust-basedcultivationtechniqueis
discussed.
MATERIALSANDMETHODS
Strain,meaiumcomposition,anacultureconaition
ThestrainoIshiitakeusedinthisstudywasHokkenNo.600.Thisstrainhasbeenusedex-
tensivelyinthesawdust-basedcultivationoIshiitakeinJapan.
Sawdust(33mm)oIQuercusserrata(Konara)andwoodchips(55

1010mm)oI
Quercussessilifolia(Shii)wereusedasthemainsubstrate.Twenty-threepercent(w/w)sawdust,
54 (w/w)woodchips,and23 (w/w)nutrients(NewBaiderushort-termcultivationtype,
HokkenCo.)weremixed,andthemoisturecontentoIthemediumwasthenad[ustedto62.The
mediumoI2.90.1kgwet-weightwasIilledinapolypropylenebagwithoneIilter(Sun-bag
SS37,SantomiCo.).Themediumwaspreparedandautoclavedat120CIor60min.Twenty-Iive
gramsoIthespawnwasinoculatedontothemediuminthebag.Theinoculatedmediumwasin-
cubatedat20CIor100days.Total80medium(40mediumIorconventionalmethodandtheother
40mediumIorimprovedmethod)wereprepared.
Flushing
Inconventionalmethod,apolypropylenebagwasremovedIromthemycelialblocksaIter
incubaton(Fig.1).ThemycelialblockswerethenIlushedIor180daysbetween13Cand20C.
MycelialblockswereIloodedatevery25days.AllIruitbodieswereharvested[ustaItertheveils
werebroken,andthenumberandweightoIIreshIruitbodieswererecorded.
Inimprovedmethod,aIterincubationthemycelialblocksweretreatedat27CIor7days
(high-temperaturetreatment)IorcontrollingtheIlushingoIIruitbodiesandIorenhancingmycelial
reinIorcementoItheblocksurIace.OnlytheuppersideoIthepolypropylenebagwasremoved
(Fig.1).ThewaterwasIilledupbetweenthemycelialblockandthecultivationbag,andarubber
band(O-band#370,Kyowa)wasthensetatthesideoIthemycelialblockIorIixingthecultivation
bag(water-Iillingtreatment).ThetemperatureoItheIruitingroomwaschangedwithareduction
oI1C/2daysdownto15CIrom27CIorbudding.ThemycelialblockswerethenIlushedIor180
daysbetween13Cand20C.AllIruitbodieswereharvestedinthesamemannerasintheconven-
tionalmethod.Thebuddingtreatmentwasconductedbyawatersupplyusingthewatersprinkler
andbytemperaturemanagementwiththe12timeperiod.
Ingeneral,the'highqualityshiitakemushroomhasbeenevaluatedIromshape,size,Iresh
weightperIruitbody,color,andtheamountoImoisture.However,itisverydiIIiculttoevaluate
alloItheseIactors.Inthepresentstudy,thereIore,inordertosimplyevaluatemushroomquality,
IreshweightperIruitbodywasadaptedtoevaluatetheIruitbodyquality.
RESULTSANDDISCUSSION
Inthemycelialblockprocessedbytheconventionalmethod,IruitbodieswereIormedonall
thesurIaces(Fig.2).Ontheotherhand,intheimprovedmethodinwhichthebagwasremoved
onlyIromtheupperportion,IruitbodiesIlushedonlyIromtheupperportionoIthemycelialblocks
(Fig.2).TheseresultsindicatethatIlushingportionoIIruitbodiesIrommycelialblockcouldbe
Environ.ControlBiol.

FFUPMETHODINSHIITAKEMUSHROOMS
controlledbyusingimprovedmethod.
Table1showstheeIIectsoIcultivationmethodontheyield(numberandIreshweightoIIruit
bodiesperblock)andqualityoIIruitbodies(IreshweightperIruitbody).SigniIicantdiIIerences
inthetotalyield,numberoIIruitbodies,andIreshweightoIaIruitbodywererecognizedbetween
Vol.47,No.1(2009)

Fig.1 SchematicdiagramoItheIlushingprocedureintheconventionalandimprovedcultivationmethods.
Note:Inimprovedmethod,onlythecultivationbagoItheupperportionwascutandremoved.
Fig.2 FruitbodyIlushingintheconventional(a)andimproved(b)cultivationmethods.Note:Inimproved
method,IruitbodyIlushedonlyIromupperportionoImycelialblocks.
Y.YAMAUCHIETAL.
theconventionalandimprovedmethods.Inotherwords,althoughthenumberoIIruitbodiesde-
creasedintheimprovedmethod,thetotalyieldoIIruitbodiesandmeanIreshweightoIaIruit
bodysigniIicantlyincreased,whichmeansthatIruitbodieswithhighqualityandyieldcouldbe
producedbytheimprovedmethod.
Inthepresentstudy,asmentionedabove,evaluationoItheIruitbodyqualitywasdoneusing
IreshweightperIruitbodyasaIactortosimplyevaluateit.ToobtainanincreasednumberoIIruit
bodieswithhighquality,continuousprimordiaIormationmustbecontrolledduringthecropping
time.Figures3and4showtheeIIectsoIthecultivationmethodonthenumberoIIruitbodiesand
IreshweightperIruitbodyduringthecroppingtime.Theimprovedmethodconsistentlyproduced
constantvaluesinthenumberoIIruitbodiesandIreshweightperIruitbodythroughoutthecrop-
pingtime,comparedtotheconventionalmethodwhichgaveagradualreductionintheyielded
numberandIreshweightasincreasingthecroppingtime.Theseresultsindicatethattheimproved
methodcouldalwaysprovidethesamequalityoIIruitbodiesthroughoutthecroppingtime.
Tokimotoetal.(1982)reportedthatthemoisturecontentoIthesubstratepositivelycorrelatedwith
theprimordiaIormation.ThereIore,thecontinuousprimordiaIormationneedstoretainasimilar
moisturecontentinthesubstrateduringthecroppingtime.Intheconventionalmethod,Ilooding
andwateringmanagementwererequiredtomaintainasuIIicientmoisturecontentinthemycelial
blocks.However,thesemanagementtechniquescannotkeepthemoistoIthemycelialblockscon-
sistentlyandsuIIicientlyIoralongtime,resultinginareductionoItheyieldandsizeoItheIruit
bodies.InIact,Yamauchietal.(2009)reportedthatthemoisturecontentoIthewater-Iilledme-
Environ.ControlBiol.

Table1 Yield,Ilushingrate,numberoIIruitbody,andmeanIreshweightperIruitbodyinconventional
andimprovedcultivationmethods.
Factor
Cultivationmethod
SigniIicance
Conventional Improved
Yield(g/medium) Mean 871.5 1099.0
*
SD 44.4 79.9
Flushingrateatonemonth Mean 47.0 24.6
*
()
z
SD 5.8 7.3
NumberoIIruitbody Mean 57.6 43.8
*
(number/medium) SD 6.3 1.3
MeanIreshweight Mean 15.2 25.1
**
perIruitbody(g) SD 1.8 1.1
z
FlushingrateatonemonthwasculculatedbydividingIleshweightoIIruitbodyyieldedduringIirstone
monthaIterIlushingtreatmentbytotalIleshweightoIIruitbody.SD,standarddeviation;*,signiIicantat5
level;**,signiIicantat1level.
Fig.3 EIIectsoIcultivationmethodonthenumberoIIruitbody.
FFUPMETHODINSHIITAKEMUSHROOMS
diumalwaysshowedhighervaluesthanthatoItheconventionalmethod,suggestingthatIruitbod-
ieswithhigh-qualitycanbecontinuouslyobtainedthroughoutthecroppingtimeusingtheim-
provedmethod.Thisisbecausetheimprovedmethodretainsamoreappropriatemoisturecontent
inthemycelialblockthanthatobtainedwiththeconventionalmethod.
AcomparisonoIIlushingmanagementbetweenimprovedandconventionalmethodsisshown
inTable2.Intheimprovedmethod,asIloodingoperationisperIormedautomaticallyusingsprin-
kler,labortimeIorsupplyingwatertothemycelialblockscanbeomitted.Ingeneral,Ueno(2000)
reportedthat5.7timesIloodingoperationsarerequiredinaverageduringacroppingperiodinthe
caseoItheconventionalmethod.Inaddition,itrequireslabortimeoI0.5hIor10kgIreshshiitake
mushroomharvesting.
Astothesettingdistancebetweeneachmycelialblock,theconventionalmethodneedsaspace
atleastIrom10to15cm,becausethesizeoIthepileusreachesupto5

10cm.Ontheotherhand,
theimprovedmethodcanallowittodecreaseto1

5cm,leadingtoincreasethesettingnumberoI
mycelialblocksinacontainer,theincreasedcapacitybeing1.5timesoItheconventionalmethod.
Inaddition,asshowninFigs.3and4,althoughbothoIthenumberandIreshweightoIIruit
bodiesdecreasedthroughoutthecroppingperiod,IreshweightoIIruitbodieswaskeptrelatively
constantuntil6thmonthharvestingintheimprovedmethod,whereasintheconventionalmethod
itrapidlydecreasedaIter5thmonthharvesting.TheseIactsmeanthattheimprovedmethodcan
consistentlyproduceIruitbodieswithgoodqualityIoralongerperiod,althoughtheturnoveroI
Iruitingroomdecreasesintheimprovedmethodcomparedtotheconventionalmethod(Figs.3and
4).TheresultsobtainedheresuggestthattheimprovedmethodisexcellentnotonlyIorIlushing
managementbutalsoIorcontrollingtheIlushingportion,inadditiontotheincreaseoItheyield
andqualityoIIruitbodies.ThenobelcultivationmethodadaptedherewasnamedFFUP(Fruit
bodyFlushingIromUpperPortionoImycelialblock)method.
Vol.47,No.1(2009)

Table2 ComparisonoIIlushingmanagementbetweenconventionalandimproved
methods.
Factor
Cultivationmethod
Conventional Improved
Buddingmethod(watersupply) ArtiIicially Automatically
Intervalbetweenmycelialblocks(cm) 10

15 1

5
NumberoImycelialblocks(no./m
2
)
z
24 36
DurationoIIlushing(days) 120 180
z
InthecasewhichIixedcultivationshelIwasused.
Fig.4 EIIectsoIcultivationmethodontheIreshweightperIruitbody.
Y.YAMAUCHIETAL.
CONCLUSIONS
ToobtainahighyieldandqualityoIIruitbodiesinthesawdust-basedcultivationoIshiitake
mushrooms,anovelcultivationmethodwasexamined.AIterhigh-temperaturetreatmentoIa
mycelialblock,andawater-IillingtreatmentoImycelialblockswithasurIacecuttinglimitedtothe
upperportionsucceededincontrollingtheIlushingportionoIIruitbodies.Thenovelcultivation
methodmadeitpossibletogiveacontinuousIlushingoIIruitbodieswithheavyIreshweight,lead-
ingtoreducethecostandlaborIorbuddingandcroppingoIIruitbodies.
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