The mushroom Agaricus blazei Murrill was discovered in Piedade, state of São Paulo, Brazil, and sent to Japan to be studied for its medicinal properties. Studies in guinea pigs revealed antitumor properties, triggering Japanese importation of A. blazei from Brazil. Because of its high price on the international market, many companies and rural growers produce A. blazei as alternative crop to increase income, but because interest in this mushroom occurred suddenly there has not been enough time for the scientific community to investigate it and, technology used for its cultivation is still based on empirical rules. There are also some contradicting data regarding the classification of this mushroom, and its antitumor properties still need to be confirmed in humans.

The production of Agaricus bisporus results in significant residual material after cultivation. Due to its physical properties and nutrient content Spent Mushroom Substrate (SMS) has great potential for use in agriculture. Our study evaluated the feasibility of using SMS as an alternative substrate for the production of Paronset® hybrid tomato seedlings and as an organic fertilizer in its production. To conduct the fruit production experiment, the plots consisted of three types of fertilizers (SMS of A. bisporus, NPK and bovine manure) with four replications. The seedlings produced in the SMS presented higher rates of germination time and speeds, and stood out from the other substrates in the evaluation of seedling quality. In the tomato fruit production phase, the average production of the plants originating from the SMS was 20% higher than the seedlings from the commercial substrate. The plants cultivated with the SMS presented higher production than the plants cultivated with bovine manure incorporated the soil. According to our results, The SMS was as good as the commercial substrates tested. Therefore, the SMS can be recommended for the growth and nutrition of seedling production and denotes potential viability for use in the tomato production cycle in its different phases.

Determinou-se a divergência genética entre cinco isolados do fungo Agaricus blazei pela técnica de RAPD. Dos cinco isolados três não apresentaram qualquer divergência, sendo caracterizados como isolados de uma mesma origem, embora obtidos em locais diferentes do país. Outros dois isolados mostraram-se diferentes do primeiro grupo e divergentes entre si.The genetic divergence of five isolates of Agaricus blazei was determined based on RAPD data. Results indicate that there is little genetic variability among the commercialized strains and that RAPD is a feasible and low cost technique that can be used to characterize this fungus

Banana stalks and Bahia grass were utilized as basic starting materials for the production of the mushroom Pleurotus sajor-caju. Banana stalks were combined with other waste or supplement products (wheat bran, coast-cross hay, bean straw and cotton textile mill) to obtain different nitrogen concentrations. Since Bahia grass is relatively rich in protein, it was combined with other substrates (banana stalk, coast-cross hay and bean straw) to maintain a substrate nitrogen concentration of about 1.5%. Banana stalks and Bahia grass were both more efficient in the production of the mushroom P. sajor-caju when utilized without the addition of other substrates, with biological efficiencies of 74.4% and 74.12%, respectively. When combined with other substrates or grasses, there was a drop in biological efficiency, independent of the concentration of nitrogen. Furthermore, the addition of protein-rich waste to banana stalks resulted in a decrease or absence of fructification, which indicates that high concentrations of nitrogen in the cultivation substrate may hinder the cultivation of this mushroom. On the other hand, results reveal that the ideal concentration of nitrogen may depend on other physicochemical factors and these factors may determine the success in cultivating P. sajor-caju. Therefore, we conclude that P. sajor-caju may be cultivated on banana stalk and Bahia grass as pure substrates, not being necessary their supplementation or combine them with another substrates.