A Detailed Guide to Polyporus umbellatus Planting Time, Methods and Cultivation Techniques

As a fungus, the cultivation of Polyporus umbellatus shares certain similarities with general mushrooms, but since Polyporus umbellatus is used as a medicinal material and its active ingredient is the sclerotium of Polyporus umbellatus, there will be certain differences in harvesting compared with general mushrooms. Let's take a look together with the editor below!

Polyporus umbellatus Cultivation Techniques

1. Choose a suitable site. The ideal site is a semi-sunny, semi-shady mountain area of secondary forest, with a slope of 30-40 degrees, high humus content, well-drained sandy soil, and in a shaded location.

2. Carefully select fungal wood. It is better to use sections of oak trees of the Quercus acutissima type; tree species such as linden, birch, and maple have thick bark and good quality, are rich in nutrients for the growth of Armillaria mellea, and have strong durability, which is beneficial for high yields.

3. Planting depth. Because Polyporus umbellatus prefers cool and shady conditions, fears heat but not cold, when cultivating it in high and cold areas the pit should be shallow, with a pit depth of 30-40 cm; in low mountain areas the pit should be deep, with a pit depth of 50 cm; shaded places should be shallow, and places often exposed to sunlight should be deep.

4. Sclerotium planting and burial. Place the new wood sections that have been cut with fish-scale notches and the Armillaria mellea sections alternately in the pit, fill the gaps between the fungal sticks with humus soil, and place the sclerotium seeds at the fish-scale notches between the Armillaria mellea sticks and the new fungal wood. Use 10-15 seeds per pit, weighing about 250 grams. After placing them, cover the sclerotia with humus soil, then place another layer of fungal wood and new wood. Alternate them in this way, that is, 2 layers of sclerotia and 3 layers of fungal wood. Cover the pit with soil in an arched shape to facilitate drainage and heat preservation.

5. Scientific management. Just after planting, the pit should not be trampled by feet or livestock, and the fungal sticks should not be turned over by digging the soil. In summer and autumn, conduct an inspection, carefully taking out 1-2 new fungal wood pieces from the upper and middle layers of the pit to see whether Armillaria mellea is growing vigorously. If it is dry, sprinkle water to maintain moisture; if water accumulates, open ditches in time to drain it. If there are ants, grubs, and other pests in the pit, use pesticides to kill them.

Polyporus umbellatus Planting Time and Methods

Polyporus umbellatus is a low-temperature fungal parasitic fungus. Generally, cultivation can be carried out before freezing in December or after thawing in March of spring until May. However, winter cultivation is better than spring cultivation, because winter planting allows Armillaria mellea and Polyporus umbellatus sufficient contact time, and Armillaria mellea has enough time to absorb nutrients from the host trees for development, thereby ensuring the normal growth and development of the Polyporus umbellatus sclerotia and obtaining a high yield.

The Growing Environment of Polyporus umbellatus

Polyporus umbellatus has the characteristics of preferring cold and cool conditions, shade, and moisture, and fearing drought. It grows under conditions of soil temperature 5-25 degrees C. In the northwestern production areas, it grows well when the soil temperature is 17-19 degrees C, germinates at 10 degrees C, and the fruiting body opens at 22 degrees C; in the northern China production areas, it germinates when the average soil temperature reaches 9.5 degrees C, the new Polyporus umbellatus grows and expands at about 12 degrees C, and at about 14 degrees C the new Polyporus umbellatus germinates abundantly and individuals grow quickly. A soil moisture content of 30-50% and a pH value of 5-7 humus soil or sandy loam soil are suitable.

Harvesting and Processing of Polyporus umbellatus

Polyporus umbellatus has a perennial habit. Within one or two years the yield is not high; cultivation for three or four years is the period of vigorous reproduction. During harvest, pay attention to the sclerotia in the surface soil layer. It can be harvested throughout the year, but summer and autumn harvesting is better. Those that are black in color and hard in texture are called old sclerotia; these are commercial Polyporus umbellatus, that is, first-generation and second-generation Polyporus umbellatus. At harvest, remove the old and keep the young. Remove impurities from the harvested Polyporus umbellatus sclerotia, scrub and wash them clean, then dry them naturally in sunlight. After drying, they can be packed, transported, and sold. Pack them in hemp bags or bamboo baskets and store them in a dry place.

The difficulty of planting Polyporus umbellatus should be said to be relatively small among medicinal material plantings, but due to the particularity of Polyporus umbellatus, the planting method must differ somewhat from ordinary medicinal materials. Therefore, if you want to plant Polyporus umbellatus, you need to fully grasp its particularity and make sufficient preparations.