Growth Rate of Mycelium of Shiitake, Lentinus edodes, in Relation to Water Potential of Medium

Abstract

The growth rate of mycelium of shiitake, Lentinus edodes (Berk.) Sing., as a function of the water potential (4) of the medium, whether it be agar or liquid, is qualitatively similar to that observed for other fungi in that there is a stimulation of the growth rate as (0 is decreased slightly but as 4 is decreased further, there is an actual inhibition of the growth rate. A slight reduction in 4 stimulated the mycelial growth of L. edodes, where a maximum growth rate occurred at-0.5 MPa and there was no growth at-5.3 MPa on a KCl-adjusted agar medium. The (I, of sawdust substrate cultivating shiitake mushroom, especially in terms of physiologically available water, may be more important than the fresh-weight moisture content expressed as a percentage of weight. And oxygen availability might be a factor in the mycelial growth.