The main material used for mushroom production is sawdust, but the shortage of sawdust is now a serious problem caused by the rapid increase in mushroom demand. We cultivated Tamogitake (Pleurotus cornucopiae var. citrinopileatus), Hiratake (Pleurotus ostreatus), Enokitake (Flammulina velutipes), Bunashimeji (Hypsizigus marmoreus) and Eringi (Pleurotus eryngii) on a cut-cardboard medium. This medium contained the chips (2×2 mm) of corrugated cardboard, instead of sawdust. The medium was supplemented by rice bran as a nutrient supplement. The rates of mycelial growth of Tamogitake and Hiratake on cut-cardbord media were higher than those of the sawdust medium. Those of Enokitake, Bunashimeji and Eringi on cut-cardbord media were almost the same as those of the sawdust medium. The fruiting of these five mushrooms occurred on the cut-cardbord medium and the yield of fruit-bodies was significantly higher than that of the saw-dust medium.

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Cultivation of Lyophyllum shimeji was examined using cornmeal. Two tested strains of L. shimeji formed mature fruit-bodies on a medium consisting of cornmeal and broad-leaved sawdust (1:2 by volume) in 850 ml bottles. The average yields of fruit-bodies of the two strains on the medium were above 50 g/bottle, though these were lower than on a medium consisting of barley grain and broad-leaved sawdust (2:3 by volume). The periods from inoculation to fruit-bodies harvested on the former medium were as long as on the latter medium.

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The recycling of the waste bed logs used in the Shiitake (Lentinula edodes (Berk.) Pegler) cultivation, as the resource of sawdust material for the sawdust-based cultivation of Shiitake, was examined. However the influences of the substitution of sawdust from waste bed logs to hardwood on the mycelial growth and the shapes of fruit bodies were not observed. The numbers of fruit bodies on the substrate substituted with sawdust of the waste bed logs are from 15 to 45% lager than those on the substrate using the sawdust from Mizunara (Quercus mongolica var. grosseserrata Rehd. et Wils.). The yield of fruit bodies of the former substrate was about 40% more than that on the latter sawdust substrate. Futhermore, the higher yield on fruit bodies of the former substrate was due to the higher yield of larger fruit bodies. These results suggest that the sawdust from the waste bed logs could be used as the resourse for the sawdust-based cultivation of L. edodes.

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The genetic constitution of A and B incompatibility factors in the three test strains of Lentinula edodes was examined by linkage analysis. We found one or two monospore isolates carrying the A incompatibility factor recombinant genes from each test strain. A few number of the monospore isolates carrying the B factor recombinant genes produced by sexual reproduction were also detected. Therefore, it is concluded that the A incompatibility factor is constituted by two subunits which are closely linked on the first linkage group with an average genetic distance of only 0.4 cM between them in the test strains. On the other hand, the loci of two subunits of the B factor are relatively far apart on the second linkage group with an average genetic distance of 4.0 cM between them.

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