Enoki Mushroom Planting Time and Methods, Fertilizer and Water Management Techniques During the Fruiting Period
As a fungus, the enoki mushroom, before artificial cultivation, also followed its natural growth patterns, sprouting and growing at appropriate times. So after large-scale artificial cultivation, people should also plant according to the normal growth patterns of the enoki mushroom, so as to ensure that the enoki mushroom fits nature to the greatest extent.
Enoki Mushroom Planting Time
The enoki mushroom is a low-temperature fruiting fungus. When cultivating enoki mushrooms without cooling conditions, inoculation must be carried out at the right time for successful fruiting. Generally speaking, when the autumn temperature drops below 20°C, inoculation and cultivation are relatively reliable, and the production of stock cultures can be started about 30 days earlier. As for the inoculation time of the last batch of enoki mushroom cultivation spawn at the beginning of the year, it should be carried out 60-80 days before the date when the local average temperature rises to 20°C in past years. For example, in various places in Hubei, stock cultures are made in early September, and the first batch of cultivation spawn is made at the end of September or the beginning of October. The inoculation date of the last batch of cultivation spawn must be earlier than mid-February, so that when the temperature is still relatively low (below 20°C) in late spring, fruiting can proceed smoothly, and 1-2 flushes of enoki mushrooms can be harvested.
Enoki Mushroom Planting Methods
1. Ingredients and bagging
A relatively reasonable substrate formula is: cottonseed hull 35%, sawdust (or other crop straw, husk, shell, residue) 40%, wheat bran (or rice bran) 18%, corn flour 2%, sugar 1%, compound fertilizer 2%, calcium carbonate 2%. After the materials are mixed evenly, adjust the water content to 60%-65%, and the pH value to between 6.5-7.5. Pack into 17 cm × 38 cm × 0.045 cm low-pressure polyethylene plastic gusseted bags, with a material height of about 15 cm (300 grams of dry material per bag). After pressing firmly, poke a 10 cm deep hole in the middle of the material, and then seal the opening.
2. Sterilization and inoculation
Use atmospheric pressure sterilization, keeping it in 100°C steam for 12 hours. After sterilization, move the bags into a sterile room while hot, and spread them out to cool. In this way, the bags shrink due to sudden cooling, and the phenomenon of mushrooms growing on the side walls will not occur during cultivation. When the material temperature drops below 30°C, open the bag opening and inoculate with spawn. Inoculation should be carried out aseptically, and the opening should be sealed again immediately.
43. Mycelium cultivation
Place the inoculated bags in a clean, dry, ventilated, and cool indoor environment for cultivation. Doors and windows should be kept away from light during the day, and opened for ventilation at night. The temperature of the cultivation bags should be controlled below 30°C. During sustained high temperatures, cooling measures such as sprinkling cool water should be taken. In spring, the relative air humidity is high, so charcoal, lime, and other moisture-absorbing materials should be placed indoors. Generally, after 20-25 days of cultivation, the mycelium can fill the bags.
4. Management during the fruiting period
The fruiting room should be equipped with upper and lower convection windows, and all doors and windows should be fitted with 80-mesh gauze. Move the fully colonized bags into the fruiting room, place them on the ground that has been splashed wet with water, leave a certain gap between bags, and leave a passage every 5 rows, doing a good job of cooling and humidifying. During the day, keep doors and windows closed; at night, open one ventilation window to promote a drop in temperature. Straw curtains can be hung on the walls of the mushroom room, and water can be sprayed onto the straw curtains. This can both increase humidity and insulate heat to lower the temperature.
5. Pest and disease control
The mushroom room should frequently be disinfected with 3% bleaching powder solution, or 0.2% oxytetracycline, or 0.2% 3B disinfectant, and sprayed with insecticides such as deltamethrin, fenvalerate, dichlorvos, and malathion. After the fruiting bodies form, the plant growth inhibitor B9 can be sprayed, which can improve the enoki mushroom's resistance to high temperature and disease and achieve the goal of high and stable yield.
Fertilizer and Water Management Techniques During the Fruiting Period of Enoki Mushrooms
During the fruiting period of enoki mushrooms, it is not suitable to spray water directly onto the fruiting bodies and into the substrate. Generally, after harvesting the second flush, the substrate is severely short of water, and it is very difficult to fruit again. By changing conventional management methods and timely strengthening fertilizer and water management during the fruiting period of enoki mushrooms, 3~5 flushes can be produced, and the fruiting is neat, the stipes are thick, and the caps are small and glossy, with no need for scratching. After the enoki mushroom mycelium is physiologically mature, move the bags from the spawn-running room to the mushroom beds in the shed, open the bags, and induce primordia and fruiting. Before moving the bags, spread film on the mushroom bed, raise the edges of the film by 2 cm, and add 0.5 cm deep water inside the film.
After moving the bags, cover the top and surroundings of the bags with black film for shading, and at the same time adjust humidity so that the humidity inside the film remains stable at 90%, promoting neat fruiting. After harvesting the first flush, replenish water into the substrate and spray 200 grams of nutrient solution to promote the second flush. After harvesting the second flush, the substrate shrinks noticeably, gaps appear between the substrate and the bag, and in the later stage mushrooms easily grow from the bottom and sides of the bag, which affects the quality of the enoki mushrooms. A large watering can be given to the bags once, with 300 grams of water replenished per bag, to promote water absorption and expansion of the substrate. Excess water can submerge the bottom of the bag, causing oxygen deficiency at the bottom so that mushrooms cannot grow there and can only grow on the surface of the substrate. After such treatment, another 3 flushes can be produced. In addition, during the fruiting period of enoki mushrooms, ventilation should be strengthened to ensure sufficient oxygen in the shed and suitable humidity.
Harvesting and Grading of Enoki Mushrooms
Enoki mushrooms should be harvested at the right time. If harvested before the stipes have fully elongated, the yield is low; if harvested when the caps have fully opened or have curled upward, the yield may be higher, but the appearance is poor, affecting commercial value. For canning, they should be harvested when the caps begin to open. For fresh sale, they can be harvested when the caps are 60%-70% opened. After harvesting, scrape off and discard the aged mycelium on the surface of the substrate, level the substrate, and refold the bag opening to allow the mycelium to resume growth.
Fresh enoki mushrooms are usually divided into 4 grades. Grade 1: caps unopened, diameter about 1 cm, stipe length 15 cm, mushroom color pure white, good freshness, no rot or deterioration. Grade 2: caps unopened, cap diameter below 1.5 cm, stipe length less than 13 cm, the basal 1/3 of the stipe yellow to light tea-colored, good freshness, no rot or deterioration. Grade 3: cap diameter within 2.5 cm, stipe length less than 11 cm, 1/2 of the stipe light tea-colored to brown, good freshness, no rot or deterioration.
Whether it is the planting time or the planting method of enoki mushrooms, it should be based on the pure natural green nature of enoki mushrooms, so that healthier and more delicious enoki mushrooms can be produced, and the edible value of enoki mushrooms to humans can truly be guaranteed. Harvesting and grading enoki mushrooms are important means of ensuring maximum benefit from enoki mushrooms.