When preparing sake mash by liquefaction process, it is treated with lyophilized mushroom powder at 50℃ for 20 hours. Using maitake mushrooms, a moromi high in free amino acids, which is an umami component, could be prepared. By treating the mash with maitake freeze-dried powder, an amino acid composition was different from that of the mash treated with a protease enzyme preparation could be obtained. In addition, the combined use of lyophilized maitake powder and protease enzyme preparation significantly increased the contents of lysine and serine in the mash.

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The influence of water-permeable weed control sheets (WCS; a kind of weed control sheet) on additional contamination was investigated to control mud splashing on bed logs and the migration of radioactive Cs from the A0 and A layers. In a long-term study conducted 3 years after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident, the concentration of radioactive Cs in the fruit-bodies and bed logs increased with the installation of WCS when compared to the untreated area. It was also suggested that the radioactive Cs that was absorbed from the lower part of the bed log was subsequently transferred to the upper part of the bed log and the side log. On the other hand, in a short-term follow-up study conducted 6 years after the nuclear accident, no additional contamination due to the installation of the WCS was observed. In the case of long-term cultivation, it is necessary to consider a different method using materials that selectively fix radioactive Cs in the soil and do not easily release it, rather than laying WCS.

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In recent years, research on improving Auricularia polytricha production in Japan has been indispensable for stabilizing its production base for the future. There are many descriptions of adding calcium carbonate in cultivation instructions and reports of cultivation tests of A. polytricha. However, to our knowledge, there are no reports on the effect of the addition on A. polytricha. We have clarified the effect of adding shell fossils, which have calcium carbonate as the main component and are widely distributed in Japan, on hyphal elongation. Further, yields in cultivation tests suggest that the addition of shell fossils can shorten the incubation period from the typical 60 days or more to 40 － 50 days.

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