The “replacing wood by grass” project can partially resolve the conflict between mushroom production and balancing the ecosystem, while promoting agricultural economic sustainability.Pleurotus pulmonariusis an economically important edible and medicinal mushroom, which is traditionally produced using a substrate consisting of sawdust and cottonseed hulls, supplemented with wheat bran. A simplex lattice design was applied to systemically optimize the cultivation ofP. pulmonariususing agro-residues as the main substrate to replace sawdust and cottonseed hulls. The effects of differing amounts of wheat straw, corn straw, and soybean straw on the variables of yield, mycelial growth rate, stipe length, pileus length, pileus width, and time to harvest were demonstrated. Results indicated that a mix of wheat straw, corn straw, and soybean straw may have significantly positive effects on each of these variables. The high yield comprehensive formula was then optimized to include 40.4% wheat straw, 20.3% corn straw, 18.3% soybean straw, combined with 20.0% wheat bran, and 1.0% light CaCO₃(C/N = 42.50). The biological efficiency was 15.2% greater than that of the control. Most encouraging was the indication that the high yield comprehensive formula may shorten the time to reach the reproductive stage by 6 days, compared with the control. Based on the results of this study, agro-residues may be used as a suitable substitution for sawdust and cottonseed hulls as the main cultivation substrates ofP. pulmonarius. These results provide a theoretical basis for the “replacing wood by grass” project on edible mushroom cultivation.

Ganoderma lingzhi, commonly known as the lingzhi mushroom, is frequently used in traditional Chinese medicine. Green mold on G. lingzhi is becoming a disease of concern in Jilin Province, China, but the causal agent is not yet known. Therefore, this study aimed to confirm both the causal pathogen by using Koch postulates and its identity by using morphological and molecular methods. The pathogen was identified as Trichoderma atroviride. Young basidiomes were inoculated with T. atroviride, which reproduced the original signs; the same pathogen was isolated again from diseased basidiomes. Green mold disease on G. lingzhi is reported here as a new fungal disease that is caused by T. atroviride in China.

Two new species (Melanoleuca galerina and M. subgrammopodia) and seven new recorded species from northern China are described here using morphological and molecular methods. Melanoleuca galerina is mainly characterized by its hygrophanous pileus, decurrent lamellae, fibrous stipe and spores with round warts. Key characteristics of M. subgrammopodia include its discolored pileus, fibrous stipe and urticiform cystidia. The divergence time of Melanoleuca fungi as well as the phylogenetic relationships within this genus were analyzed using DNA sequences of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and the nuclear large subunit rDNA (nrLSU) gene fragments. Analyses revealed that morphological identifications and phylogenetic relationships were consistent with the results of divergence time, thereby confirming that M. galerina and M. subgrammopodia are new species.

Tricholosporum haitangshanum sp. nov. is described as a new species from China, based on morphological and molecular data. It is morphologically characterized by a yellowish ochre pileus, cruciate basidiospores and ampullaceous cystidia. Phylogenetic analyses based on the nuc rDNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region supports that it belongs to Tricholosporum. Comparing it with phenotypically similar and molecular phylogenetically allied taxa concluded that it is a new species in Tricholosporum.