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White and red oak (Quercus spp.), Black Cherry [Prunus serotina (Ehrh.)], Sassafras [Sassafras albidum (Nutt.) Nees], and Eastern Sycamore (Platanus occidentalis (L.)] logs were inoculated, in 12-mm holes drilled 25 mm deep, with eight strains of shiitake mushrooms [Lentinula edodes (Berk.) Pegler]. Logs were then placed in 80% shade houses under natural environment. Harvested mushrooms were counted and weighed and biological efficiency computed. Interactions among strains and seasons of harvest and species and seasons of harvest were significant. The higher producing strains and species produced more mushrooms later in the life of the log than the least productive strains and wood species. White and red oaks produced significantly more than the other wood species. There was only one strain, CW25, that produced significantly less than the top four yielding strains.
Logs of white and red oak (Quercus spp.), black cherry [Prunus serotina (Ehrh.)], sassafras (Sassafras albidum (Nutt.) Nees), and eastern sycamore [Platanus occidentalis (L.)] were inoculated with eight strains of shiitake mushroom in 12-mm holes drilled 25 mm deep and spaced 15 cm apart down the log and 5 cm apart around the log in a staggered pattern. Logs then were placed in quonset houses covered with 80% shadecloth in Mar. 1991. The environment within these shaded houses was not modified otherwise. Harvested mushrooms were counted and weighed and biological efficiency (BE) was determined. White and red oaks produced significantly higher yields of shiitake mushrooms over the lifetime of the log than the other types of wood. Only one strain, CW25, produced significantly lower yields than the best four strains. Interactions among strains and seasons of harvest and the species and seasons of harvest were significant. The most productive mushroom strains and tree species yielded more mushrooms later in the life of the logs than the least productive strains and tree species did earlier in the life of the logs. BE attained from strain × species interactions ranged from 0% (WW70, CW25, and WR85 on sycamore) to 8.8% (WW44 on red oak) in an outdoor noncontrolled environment. The gross per cord value (at wholesale price) of shiitake harvested from white oak was $2475.00. The cost of producing one cord of shiitake is about $6.44 per log in a small-scale operation. A net return of $1509.00 per cord is realistic and includes the cost of labor.
Shiitake mushrooms [Lentinula edodes (Berk.) Pegler] have several therapeutic effects such as antibiotic, immunoregulatory, hypocholesterolemic, and hypotensive. Human studies have proven that serum cholesterol can be lowered by consuming shiitake mushrooms on a regular basis. However, few studies have evaluated shiitake mushroom effects for more than a few weeks. In this study, male spontaneously hypertensive rats were divided into six groups. Each group received one of the following diets: 0% cholesterol (C); C + 5% shiitake mushrooms; C + 5% Agaricus bisporus (Lange) Imbach; 1% cholesterol (1C); 1C + 5% shiitake; 1C + 5% A. bisporus. Serum cholesterol was measured at the end of 9 weeks and systolic blood pressure was measured weekly for 6 weeks. At the end of the study, total serum (TC) and very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) cholesterol (mg·dL–1) were significantly lower in both of the shiitake diets compared to 1C or 1C + 5% A. bisporus. The total cholesterol for diets 1 through 6 were 44, 34, 36, 71, 34, and 54 mg·dL–1, respectively. Systolic blood pressure was significantly lower over the 6-week period for the shiitake and A. bisporus amended diets. The addition of cholesterol to the diets did not significantly affect systolic blood pressure. Results of this study indicate that both shiitake and A. bisporus mushrooms may help reduce hypertension. Shiitake mushrooms may be superior to white mushrooms for hypocholesterolemic effect when cholesterol in the diet is high. The results of this study reinforce other work conducted in Japan on animals and humans. Promotion of shiitake mushrooms as a product that can reduce cholesterol or blood pressure can increase sales if scientific information supports these claims.
To determine if biological efficiency of shiitake mushrooms was affected by the density of spawn inoculation, white oak logs about 31 inches (0.79 m) long were cut from trees harvested 14 Apr. and inoculated 6 May 2003 with strain WR46 of Lentinula edodes using four rates of inoculation. The number of holes drilled and inoculated with spawn was determined by multiplying the weight of each log by 0.5, 1, 2, or 3. A 15-pound log (6.8 kg) inoculated at “3” times the weight would have 45 holes drilled and inoculated. Each rate of inoculation treatment was replicated three times with three subsamples per replication. After six harvests over a 21-month period, the biological efficiency (BE) of the logs increased by 1.94% per additional hole per pound (0.45 kg). This increase in BE would result in $1.15 in additional returns per log with a cost of only $0.15 more per log due to increased spawn use, resulting in a net profit, excluding increased labor and wax costs, of $1.00 per log.
This study evaluated whether adding either sucrose or urea to the soak water could enhance production of shiitake mushrooms (Lentinula edodes) on sawdust blocks. For both sucrose and urea experiments, sawdust blocks inoculated with “QR” and “26” strains of L. edodes were placed in the soak water amended with either sucrose or urea at the first soaking only, at the second soaking only, or at all six soakings. Control blocks were soaked in tap water. In Experiment I, blocks were soaked in water containing 0, 20,000, or 40,000 ppm (mg·L–1) sucrose. Strain 26 produced significantly more mushrooms and greater mushroom weight than QR. Addition of sucrose to the soak water resulted in fewer mushrooms harvested and lower yields than controls. There was a significant interaction between the sucrose rate and strain for both mushroom number and biological efficiency (BE). Both strains produced fewer mushrooms and less BE as the concentration of sucrose in the soak water increased; however, QR was less affected by the increasing concentration of sucrose. In Experiment II, sawdust blocks inoculated with QR and 26 strains of shiitake were soaked in water containing 0, 2400, or 3600 ppm (mg·L–1) urea. Strain 26 produced significantly more mushrooms and greater BE than QR. The addition of 2400 ppm of urea to the soak water resulted in more mushrooms per block harvested and a 12% increase in BE over the control. The 2400 ppm rate added at each soak produced more mushrooms and mushroom weight than the control and also produced more mushrooms than any of the blocks in the higher rate of urea (3600 ppm) treatments. Adding 16.9 oz (480 g) of urea per tank to obtain 2400 ppm urea in the soak water results in the minimal increase in cost of about $0.20 per soak (52 sawdust blocks), but potentially increases the value of the mushrooms harvested from each block by $0.75. In an average-sized shiitake mushroom block production facility containing 500 blocks, continuous addition of 2400 ppm urea to the soak water would provide an increased return of about $375 over the entire season.
In teaching a course in landscape plant materials, the landscape plants which exist on campus are an important and accessible resource. Management of location, health. and cultivar information is critical to optimizing this resource. As a classroom assignment, campus plant materials were inventoried, entered into FileMaker Pro 2.1, a database manager, characterized and assigned locations. The campus map was scanned using a Microtek ScanMaker IIXE and the image imported into MacDraw II. A symbol library, which included symbols for trees, shrubs, and groundcovers, was developed by scanning hand drawn images and then importing them into MacPain. These bit-mapped images could then be duplicated as often as necessary and placed in appropriate locations on the campus map in MacDraw II. In this way, students are exposed not only to landscape plant materials but also to database managers and computer graphics capabilities. This approach also has the advantage that database information can be easily coordinated with physical location. plant materials can be sorted based on their characteristics, and information can be routinely and easily revised and updated.
The landscape plants that exist on the Alabama A&M University, Normal, campus are readily accessible for a plant identification and use course. Managing location, health, and cultivar information is critical to optimizing this resource. As a classroom assignment, campus plants were inventoried; entered into FileMaker Pro 2.1, a relational database manager; characterized; and assigned locations on campus. The campus map was scanned using a Microtek Scanmaker IIxe and the image was imported into MacDraw II. A symbol library, which included symbols for trees, shrubs, and groundcovers, was developed by scanning hand-drawn images and then importing them into MacPaint. These bit-mapped images were duplicated as often as necessary and placed in appropriate locations on the campus map in MacDraw II. Students were exposed to landscape plant materials, database managers, and computer graphics capabilities. This approach has other advantages: database information can be easily coordinated with physical location, plants can be sorted based on their characteristics, and information can be routinely and easily revised and updated. The database is used in the landscape plant materials class as a teaching tool and for self-guided tours.
Abstract
Early season sweet corn has a potentially greater market value than peak-season sweet corn. However, most sweet corn cultivars, especially the “super sweets”, do not germinate well at temperatures below 10°C. To determine if pregermination treatments could be an effective means to accelerate corn germination in cool soils, seeds were treated and then incubated at 4.4°, 7.2°, and 10.0°C. Treatments included seed presoaked in an aqueous preparation of Terra-Sorb GB (TS) or water for 24, 48, 72, and 96 hr before incubation. The cooler the incubator temperature, the greater were the differences among water, TS, and control treatments. Pretreatments with TS over 48 hr are not practical if seeds are to be planted with a mechanical planter because the radicles are elongated to the point of potential damage. A 24-hr TS presoak offers the potential for early germination without prior radicle emergence, which would allow the seed to be mechanically sown.