Abstract
Shiitake mushroom, Lentinula edodes, was cultivated by using the steamed and hot water-extracted leaf residue of bamboo grass, Sasa senanensis, as a substitute for hardwood sawdust which is generally used as a basal substrate for the culture medium. The effects of the ratio of the leaf residue of bamboo grass to the birch sawdust on the fruit body production were investigated. Influences of the addition of the leaf residue on the mycelial growth and the shape of fruit bodies could not be observed. No significant difference in the fruit body yield was detected among the media up to 50% substitution of the residue for the sawdust. The cultures containing the residue at 25% and 50% of the basal substrate tended to produce relatively larger fruit bodies. These results indicate that replacement up to a half amount of hardwood sawdust by steamed and extracted residue of bamboo grass leaves can be applied to the commercial cultivation of L. edodes.
