Improvement of productivity and polysaccharide‑protein complex in Agaricus blazei

Abstract

The objective of this work was to assess the productivity and polysaccharide‑protein complex content of <i>Agaricus blazei</i> on rice straw medium, in comparison to conventional sawdust, using four casing soils. The <i>A. blazei</i> strain used was BCRC36814T, purchased from the Food Industry Research and Development Institute, Hsin‑Chu, Taiwan. The two media were evaluated as to <i>A. blazei</i> productivity, harvesting time, and production costs. The experimental design used was a randomized complete block, with four replicates. Three local casing soils – Typic Paleudult (CCe), Typic Udorthent (Tq) and Oxyaquic Paleudult (TSp) – were compared to imported peat soil (PS, Saprists, Histosols), used as the control. The productivity of <i>A. blazei</i> using Tq and TSp soil was significantly higher. The TSp casing treatment resulted in earlier harvest by at least
14 to 27 days, when compared to the other treatments. The polysaccharide content in CCe (13.2%) and Tq
soils (13.2%) did not differ significantly from the PS (13.4%) and TSp (10.6%) treatments. Local casing soils
decreased the production costs of <i>A. blazei</i> cultivation. Composted rice straw can substitute sawdust as the culture medium for <i>A. blazei</i> production with increased yield.