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Mushroom farmers have large quantities of spent mushroom substrate after their crops are harvested. This material is used for a variety of purposes including the growth of field crops. SMS was incorporated into a poor quality soil before planting 90-day corn. Field plots were established where spent mushroom substrate (SMS) was incorporated at 22.5, 45.0 or 90.0 kg m-1 , plus an untreated control on each of three years. Analysis of SMS indicates its nutrient level was 0.9-0.6-1.0 (N-P-K). Starter fertilizer was applied at planting along with an insecticide, but no herbicide. No additional fertilizer was used. Corn yields were significantly higher in SMS amended plots and the nitrogen content of both grain and stover was significantly higher than the control. Surface runoff water quality values from SMS amended soil were in the same range as those from the control treatments, the plots that received no SMS. Annual incorporation of up to 90 kg m-2 of SMS into land planted to corn did not degrade the quality of surface water. Nutrients were retained in the SMS soil matrix and were, apparently, used as nutrients by the corn plants. Surface runoff was very low in ammonia nitrogen, CBOD, and chlorides. Use of SMS as an exclusive soil nutrient/soil ameliorant in corn production resulted is exceptionally good yields and quality.Downloaded by [New York University] at 12:01 01 October 2015

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Fluorescent pseudomonads isolated from diseased Agaricus bisporus mushrooms (bacterial blotch), internal mushroom stipe tissue, and reference cultures were subjected to an array of determinative tests including a recently described white-line reaction. All isolates recovered from fresh, healthy mushroom tissue proved to be in the range of Pseudomonas putida or P. fluorescens types, producing oxidase and arginine dehydrolase with growth at 4 °C, while failing to cause soft rot of potato tissue or to blotch mushroom tissue, produce pigment on King's medium A, or to grow at 41 °C. Significantly, 68 cultures identified as P. fluorescens belonged to biotype G, 35 having a similar nutritional profile, which suggests a unique identity. Six of eight P. tolaasii reference cultures were pathogens but their placement into a defined biotype is speculative. Dissociative tendencies were commonplace with all isolates. The white-line test was employed with P. tolaasii reference cultures. Those which caused blotch had an R reaction, white-line test. Of 90 isolates from diseased tissue, 76 were indicators (I) and 14 nonreactors (NR). The white-line reaction occurred in King's medium B as described and on three additional substrates. Hundreds of isolates responded as expected with either an I or an R reaction even though stored for up to 2 years. Reliable assessment of P. tolaasii pathogenicity using excised pileus tissue required three replicates read following 24 h incubation.

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