Bioscience Evidence 2026, Vol.16, No.4, 316-328 http://bioscipublisher.com/index.php/be 317 directions. The goal of substrate management has gradually shifted from simply increasing yield to improving resource efficiency, production stability, and product quality. However, current substrate management in shiitake production still faces several challenges. Traditional hardwood sawdust resources are limited by supply availability and increasing costs, making the development of suitable alternative materials an important requirement for sustainable industry development. Nevertheless, agricultural and forestry residues differ greatly in fiber structure, nutrient composition, and degradation characteristics, and direct replacement of traditional sawdust often fails to achieve consistent production performance. Therefore, this review systematically summarizes the effects of substrate composition, wood-based materials, nutrient supplementation strategies, carbon-to-nitrogen balance, and physical properties of substrates on mycelial growth, bag development, yield formation, and quality formation. By combining production practices from major shiitake cultivation regions in China, this study further discusses current substrate management models and future development directions. The aim is to provide theoretical support and practical references for the recycling utilization of agricultural and forestry by-products, the development of low-cost and efficient cultivation substrates, and the production of high-quality shiitake mushrooms. 2 Construction of High-Quality Substrate Systems for Shiitake Mushroom Production 2.1 Principles for developing high-quality substrate systems Shiitake mushroom is a typical wood-decaying edible fungus, and its growth mainly depends on lignocellulosic materials in the substrate as nutrient sources. Lentinula edodes has strong lignocellulose-degrading ability and can utilize materials such as sawdust, branches, and some agricultural residues for mycelial growth and fruiting body formation (Chen et al., 2016). However, in practical production, not all plant materials are suitable for shiitake cultivation. Different raw materials vary in their chemical composition and physical characteristics, which can affect mycelial growth rate, bag maturation period, fruiting performance, and final product quality. A suitable shiitake substrate mainly needs to solve two basic problems: whether the mycelium has sufficient nutrients and whether the substrate environment is suitable for mycelial development. Wood-based materials such as sawdust mainly provide a stable carbon source and help maintain proper substrate looseness, allowing normal mycelial growth. Hardwood sawdust remains the main substrate material in current shiitake production because it decomposes at a moderate rate and can provide nutrients for a relatively long period. However, with the expansion of the shiitake industry, dependence on high-quality sawdust has resulted in increasing costs and resource shortages. Therefore, more studies have focused on using agricultural and forestry residues as alternative or supplementary materials. For example, fruit tree pruning branches, forestry residues, and some crop residues have potential as substrate resources. However, these materials cannot directly replace sawdust without proper adjustment. Their characteristics need to be considered during formulation to avoid negative effects on mycelial growth and later fruiting performance. Nabhan et al. (2025) reported that different substrate materials influence mycelial growth, yield, and fruiting body quality, indicating that substrate selection should consider both raw material properties and production objectives. 2.2 Selection of wood-based substrate materials Under natural conditions, shiitake mushrooms mainly grow on hardwood materials. Therefore, hardwood sawdust has been the most commonly used substrate material in commercial cultivation for many years. Compared with some softwood materials, hardwood sawdust generally has a more stable structure and a suitable nutrient release rate, providing a relatively long growth period for shiitake mycelia. In practical production, however, not all types of sawdust perform equally. The tree species used as raw materials can influence mycelial growth, fruiting performance, and product quality. Thakur et al. (2024) compared the effects of different wood substrates on shiitake production and nutritional composition, and found that wood sources caused differences in yield performance and accumulation of functional components. Among them,
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjQ4ODYzNA==