Detailed Explanation of Key Points for Artificial Cultivation Techniques of Lingzhi (Reishi Mushroom)

Lingzhi, also known as forest ling and qiongzhen, is the fruiting body of the fungus Ganoderma lucidum in the family Polyporaceae. It has the effects of tonifying qi and calming the mind, relieving cough and asthma, and prolonging life. It is used for dizziness and insomnia, palpitations and shortness of breath, neurasthenia, and consumptive cough and asthma. Let's take a look below at the artificial cultivation techniques of Lingzhi.

Cultivation Techniques of Lingzhi

Selection of shed construction site.

Choose a Lingzhi greenhouse that is warm and moisture-retaining, well ventilated, with appropriate light, smooth drainage, and convenient management. The ground inside the shed must be clean, the walls smooth and clean, and resistant to moisture. The size of the Lingzhi shed depends on the amount of culture material, and it is generally best built in woods or in shaded areas in front of and behind houses, close to a water source. Before the culture material enters the shed, the mushroom shed must be strictly disinfected. For every cubic meter of space, use 5 ml of formaldehyde and 10 g of potassium permanganate for sealed fumigation for 24 hours. Spring planting is best in April to May, and autumn planting is best in September to October.

Preparation of the planting mixture.

The planting mixture can be made with 77% cottonseed hulls, 10% wheat bran, 10% cornmeal, and 1% each of sugar, phosphate fertilizer, and gypsum; or made with 70% sawdust, 25% wheat bran, 2% soybean powder, 1% phosphate fertilizer, 1.5% gypsum, and 0.5% sugar. When preparing, first mix the cottonseed hulls, sawdust, wheat bran, gypsum powder and other raw materials evenly, with a moisture content of 60%-65%, ideally such that when squeezed tightly by hand, water appears between the fingers but does not drip. After the culture material is mixed, use a bagging machine to fill bags. For plastic bags, choose 15 cm by 35 cm or 17 cm by 33 cm polypropylene or polyethylene tube bags, with each bag containing 400-450 g of dry material. Polyethylene bags use normal-pressure sterilization for 10-12 hours, and polypropylene plastic bags use high-pressure sterilization for 2 hours. Wait until the material cools to below 30 degrees C, then inoculate in a sterile room. One bottle of wheat-grain mother spawn can inoculate 40-45 bags of culture material, and one bottle of cottonseed-hull cultivation spawn can inoculate 25-35 bags of culture material. Move the inoculated fungus bags into a disinfected cultivation room, arrange them in layers, with each row 6-8 layers high, leaving walkways between the racks, and turn them over once a week from top to bottom to ensure even temperature of the fungus bags, increase oxygen inside the bags, promote mycelial growth, and at the same time remove fungus bags infected by green mold and other contaminating fungi.

Management during the mycelial growth stage.

Lingzhi is a heat-loving fungus. The optimal temperature for mycelial growth is 26-28 degrees C, and the fruiting body grows best at 24-28 degrees C; below 18 degrees C the fruiting body cannot develop normally. During the mycelial growth period, keep the temperature in the cultivation room at 22-30 degrees C and the relative air humidity at 50%-60%. Ventilate for half an hour every day, and turn the fungus bags over once every 5-7 days. When the mycelium has grown over two-thirds of the material bag, move it into the cultivation shed, loosen the bag opening, and gently lift it with your hand, leaving a small gap. Scattered light is suitable inside the shed; avoid direct strong light. After 25-32 days, the mycelium can fully cover the material bag. For individual material bags where the mycelium develops unevenly, they can be picked out and placed separately.

Management during the fruiting stage.

After the mycelium has fully covered the material bag, use a blade to cut round openings the size of a 5-jiao coin at both ends to facilitate fruiting. During fruiting, keep the shed temperature at 26-30 degrees C, raise the relative air humidity to 90%-95%, provide scattered light and sufficient oxygen, and maintain a shallow water layer on the ground. Open the door and vents for ventilation before 8 a.m. and after 4 p.m. every day; when the temperature is low, ventilate at 12 noon. After the primordium expands for 3-5 days and gradually forms the cap, increase water spraying to maintain moisture; when the temperature is too high, spray water to maintain moisture.

Poor ventilation easily leads to deformed Lingzhi, and when deformed buds appear they must be cut off promptly. The cap gradually changes from white to light yellow, and from yellow to reddish brown; when the white edge of the cap basically disappears, the edge turns red, the cap begins to become leathery, and reddish-brown mist-like spores are ejected from the underside, it indicates that the Lingzhi fruiting body has matured and should be harvested in time. From cutting the opening to harvest takes 40-45 days.

Harvesting.

Stop watering 1 week before harvesting Lingzhi, close the ventilation door, and lay plastic film on the ground of the walkways so as to collect the released spore powder. After the spores are released, the cap changes from soft to hard, has no pale white edge, and its color changes from light yellow to reddish brown; when it no longer grows or thickens, the mature Lingzhi can be harvested. When harvesting Lingzhi, cut it off from the base of the stipe with scissors or gently pick it by hand. After harvesting, dry it in the shade in time; if conditions permit, dry it by oven or sun-dry until the moisture content is 12%, which is the finished Lingzhi product. Bag it and store it in a dry room or sell it. The finished product is best when dry, with a thick cap, thick and strong stipe, hard texture, reddish-brown color, and lacquer-like luster.[1] 

Precautions for Lingzhi

Management of spring Lingzhi: Lingzhi produced from March to June is called spring Lingzhi. At this stage, humidity regulation is key, and the fungus logs should be soaked in water at the proper time. Before soaking, first use a No. 8 iron shovel to pierce from one end of the fungus log to the other, then place the fungus logs in a water trough or ditch, with the fungus logs submerged as appropriate. Note: if the fungus log has lost less than one-fifth of its weight, do not soak it for now; if the temperature exceeds 25 degrees C, do not soak it for now.

Management of autumn Lingzhi: Lingzhi produced from November to December is called autumn Lingzhi. Its management key points are: keep the temperature at 12-15 degrees C and the relative air humidity at 85%-90%. Under conditions of fresh air, reduce water evaporation and do a good job of moisture retention. When the Lingzhi buds grow to the size of soybeans, spray water depending on weather conditions. When the temperature is above 20 degrees C, spray in the morning and evening, not at noon; do not spray on rainy or snowy days; spray less on cloudy days.

Management of winter Lingzhi: Lingzhi produced from January to February is called winter Lingzhi, and its quality is the best. At this time, the temperature in the Lingzhi room should not be lower than 3 degrees C. Do not open windows in the morning and evening; when the temperature is high at noon, open windows appropriately for ventilation.