Objective  Effect of various pesticides on the growth of Tremella fuciformis Berk and the food safety assessment on the pesticide residues were studied.

  Method  Two major T. fuciformis Berk cultivars, Tr01 and Tr21, of Gutian County in Fujian were cultivated on substrates under 9 treatments that applied 11 pesticides in varied concentrations to monitor the fungal growth and yield. Upon maturation, fruiting bodies were harvested for chemical analysis to determine the health risk of pesticide residues for food consumption.

  Result  Other than imidacloprid, none of the tested pesticides left a detectable residue in the fruiting bodies. Even the highest hazard quotients (HQs) of imidacloprid on the acute and chronic health risks were far below 1 at 0.006 and 0.000 9, respectively. The application of 20% isoprocarb emulsion caused deformation on the fruiting bodies of both varieties. On fungal yield, among the pesticides, 3.5% cypermethrin and 1.5% acetamiprid microemulsion reduced the yields of both cultivars; 5% avermectin emulsion and 30% acephate emulsion lowered the yield of Tr01; and, 3% bifenthrin and 3% acetamiprid microemulsion decreased the yield of Tr21.

  Conclusion  The growth of Tr01 was more sensitivity to pesticide applications than Tr21, and neither T. fuciformis cultivars could develop normally on substrate with the presence of isoprocarb. Within the treatment limits applied in this study, the pesticide residues in the fruiting bodies seemed to post little health risk for consumers.