This study determined the effects of the mycelium post-ripening time on the growth of Pleurotus geesteranus and the substrate metabolism. The characteristic indexes and timing reflecting the physiological maturity of P. geesteranus mycelium were identified to facilitate precise cultivation in factories. The effects of seven mycelium post-ripening times (20–50 d) on the characteristics, yield, and nutrients of P. geesteranus and the substrate physicochemical properties were investigated using the “Jinxiu” strain. Prolonging the mycelium post-ripening time initially increased and then decreased the yield, high-quality mushroom rate, hardness, and elasticity. Mycelium post-ripening time and yield were positively correlated with the high-quality fruiting rate, total sugar content, and chromatic value, and negatively correlated with the lightness value. Moreover, the mycelium post-ripening time was positively correlated with ergosterol content and catalase activity and negatively correlated with C/N, cellulose content, and superoxide dismutase activity. The most suitable mycelium post-ripening time of P. geesteranus was 35–45 days. The pH and acid protease activities can be indicators for the end of P. geesteranus substrate colonization.

Hericium coralloides is a highly valued gourmet and medicinal species with growing market demand across East Asia, though industrial production remains limited by cultivation challenges. This study investigated the molecular characteristics, biological traits, domestication potential, and cultivation protocols of Hericium coralloides strains collected from the Changbaishan Nature Reserve (Jiling, China). Optimal conditions for mycelial growth included mannose as the preferred carbon source, peptone as the nitrogen source, 30 °C incubation temperature, pH 5.5, and magnesium sulfate as the essential inorganic salt. The fruiting bodies had a protein content of 2.43% g/100 g (fresh sample meter). Total amino acids comprised 53.3% of the total amino acid profile, while essential amino acids accounted for 114.11% relative to non-essential amino acids, indicating high nutritional value. Under optimized domestication conditions—70% hardwood chips, 20% cottonseed hulls, 8% bran, 1% malic acid, and 1% gypsum—bags reached full colonization in 28 days, with a 15-day maturation phase and initial fruiting occurring after 12–14 days. The interval between flushes was 10–12 days. The average yield reached 318.65 ± 31.74 g per bag, with a biological conversion rate of 63.73%. These findings demonstrate that Hericium coralloides possesses significant potential for edible and commercial applications. This study provides a robust theoretical foundation and resource reference for its artificial cultivation, supporting its broader industrial and economic utilization.

Pleurotus ostreatus cultivation is often affected by pest infestations, which contaminate the bag by eating nutrients and mycelium. This contamination eventually leads to a decline in the quality and yield of edible mushrooms and affects farmers’ income. Therefore, pesticides are commonly used for pest control. To examine the impact of insecticides on the growth of P. ostreatus, this study quantified the activities of antioxidant enzymes, including catalase (CAT), peroxidase (POD), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and phenylalanine deaminase (PAL), in the mushroom under different insecticide treatments. Additionally, transcriptome sequencing was performed to investigate the underlying regulatory mechanisms. The findings indicated that dinotefuran, diflubenzuron, chlorantraniliprole, and beta-cypermethrin treatments resulted in a significant reduction in catalase and peroxidase activities in P. ostreatus. Conversely, the application of beta-cypermethrin and chlorantraniliprole significantly enhanced PAL and SOD activities in the mycelium. PAL activity was significantly increased in all the mixed substrates, whereas only spray treatments with diflubenzuron resulted in a significant increase in PAL activity. SOD activity in the substrates was reduced by diflubenzuron in the mixed treatment and chlorantraniliprole in the spray treatment. In contrast, all other treatments resulted in a significant increase in SOD activity in the substrates. Transcriptome sequencing revealed that differential genes were predominantly enriched in valine, leucine, and isoleucine degradation, fatty acid degradation, tyrosine metabolism, ascorbate and aldarate metabolism, and histidine metabolism, among others. These biological processes are hypothesized to be involved in the growth regulatory effects of insecticides on the mycelium and ascospores of P. ostreatus. The reliability of the transcriptomic data was also validated through quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction.

The return of mushroom residue to the field is an effective measure to improve soil fertility and maintain agroecosystem productivity. We investigated the effects of returning Auricularia auricula residue to the field on the soil nutrients, enzyme activities, and microbial communities in rice–A. auricula rotation farmland. The return of 67.5 ton/ha A. auricula residue to the field significantly increased the contents of ammonium nitrogen, total nitrogen, total potassium, total phosphorus, available potassium (QK), available phosphorus, and organic matter by 180.49%, 70.41%, 16.3%, 54.35%, 137.33%, 38.84%, and 59.29%, respectively. The activities of urease, sucrase, β-glucosidase (β-GC), and acetyl-β-d-glucosidase significantly increased by 32.98%, 407.78%, 206.85%, and 186.26%, respectively; catalase and leucine aminopeptidase activities increased by 244.42% and 130.90% with the return of 54 ton/ha residue. Mushroom residue return increased the Chao1 and Shannon indices of the bacterial community but decreased the diversity of the fungal community. Redundancy analysis showed that QK, β-GC, and urease were closely associated with shifts in microbial community structure. Therefore, returning 67.5 ton/ha (149,925 bags) A. auricula residue to the field can enhance soil ecological functions by improving soil nutrients, enzyme activities, and microbial community structure.

This study investigates the effect of hot-air drying temperature (45–70 °C) on the major bioactive constituents and in vitro antioxidant activity of artificially cultivated Sanghuangporus vaninii fruiting bodies. The contents of polyphenols and polysaccharides gradually rose with elevated temperature and peaked at 70 °C, whereas the flavonoid content reached the maximum at 55 °C and declined continuously afterwards. Among the tested bioactive substances, polyphenols exhibited the strongest antioxidant activity, with their DPPH and superoxide anion radical scavenging capacities peaking at 70 °C and hydroxyl radical scavenging capacity peaking at 55 °C. Correlation analysis revealed that the contents of polyphenol and polysaccharide possessed markedly positive correlations with DPPH and superoxide anion scavenging activities, yet no statistically relevant correlation was observed for flavonoids. Cluster analysis classified all tested temperatures into two clusters: low-temperature drying (45–50 °C) yielded inferior bioactive constituents and antioxidant activity, whereas medium-to-high-temperature drying (55–70 °C) delivered superior performance. From a practical perspective, drying at temperatures ≥55 °C is recommended to enhance product quality. Specifically, 70 °C is optimal to maximize overall antioxidant capacity, whereas 55 °C is preferable for flavonoid enrichment and color preservation. These findings provide an evidence-based strategy for the optimization of post-harvest drying processes of S. vaninii.

Light is a critical environmental cue regulating development and quality in edible fungi, yet the effects of dynamic light regimes (for example, transitions from white to blue light) remain poorly understood. We systematically investigated how white-light pretreatment duration (0, 4, 8, or 12 h) and two blue-light regimes—B6 (6 h blue followed by white until harvest) and Bc (continuous blue until harvest)—affect fruiting-body development, yield, color, textural properties, and nutritional quality of Pleurotus pulmonarius. The experiment was conducted at a single commercial production facility in Zhejiang Province, China, using the commercial strain P. pulmonarius (cultivar ‘Jinxiu’). Two-way ANOVA revealed significant interactions between white-light pretreatment and blue-light regime for cap a* value (red-green), cap width, cap hardness and chewiness, stipe hardness, number of fruiting bodies, and several nutrient components. All dynamic light regimes reduced cap L* value (lightness) and b* value (yellow-blue); continuous blue (Bc) produced a darker cap. Yield responses to blue-light duration depended on pretreatment: without white pretreatment, Bc outperformed B6, whereas with 4–12 h white pretreatment B6 produced higher yields. Relative to the control (CK), all dynamic regimes significantly increased total free amino acids and essential amino acids. Except for W4B6 and W12B6, all other treatments significantly increased crude protein; total soluble sugar, crude fat, and crude fiber decreased in most treatments compared to CK. These results indicate that an optimized transition from white to blue light can synergistically improve the color, nutritional quality and yield of P. pulmonarius. The W8Bc regime (8 h white pretreatment followed by continuous blue until harvest) produced the highest cap chewiness (21.65 N·mm) and free amino acid content (3110.44 μg·g⁻¹), the darkest cap color, and the top comprehensive score in the entropy-weighted TOPSIS evaluation, despite ranking second in yield and high-quality rate. Under the conditions tested (single cultivar ‘Jinxiu’ at one production base), we recommend the W8Bc light regime as suitable for industrial cultivation of Pleurotus pulmonarius. However, it should be noted that these findings cannot be generalized to the entire species without further validation across multiple strains and multiple locations.