Analysis and Treatment of Common Problems in the Cultivation of Black Fungus

Everyone is very familiar with black fungus; in daily life, black fungus is a fairly common dish, and in the editor's home black fungus is basically eaten once a week. Stir-fried pork with black fungus is a favorite of the whole family. Do not underestimate this black fungus; eating it regularly has a very good preventive effect on many diseases in the human body.

What are the development prospects for black fungus

China is a major country in the production and consumption of black fungus. Of the total output of black fungus, the annual output of mainland China is about 21,000 tons, while the output of Taiwan, China, Thailand, the Philippines and others is about 1,000 tons. At present, global annual consumption of black fungus is about 4.2 tons, of which mainland China accounts for about 34,600 tons, Taiwan, China about 8.5 million tons; Hong Kong, China about 600 tons, with part resold abroad; Japan 2,400 tons, Southeast Asia about 2,000 tons; the remaining countries 800 tons, mainly Europe, with Australia and New Zealand accounting for a small part. In recent years, black fungus sales have increased greatly. According to statistics, black fungus sales in 2003 increased by 1/3 compared with 2002, but at the current stage the per capita consumption of black fungus in China is only about 10 grams. If consumption reached the Japanese level, annual consumption would increase to more than 30,000 tons. The growth in domestic consumption provides a strong market guarantee for increased output.

Black fungus is a medium-temperature type fungus. According to cultivation experience, in North China, two batches can be produced in 1 year. For the first batch, cultivation bags are produced in mid-February, and they can be placed in the field to induce fruiting in mid- and late April, with fruiting ending in early and mid-July. For the second batch, fungus bags are produced in mid- and late May, and they can be placed in the field to induce fruiting in early and mid-August, with fruiting ending in early November. The normal mycelial growth period is 45-50 days, the fungus cultivation period is 10-15 days, the budding period is 7-10 days, and the harvesting period is 45-60 days.

The following key points should be noted during mycelial growth culture

1. The culture room must be hygienic and dry, and the air humidity must not exceed 70%.

2. The culture room must be protected from light.

3. Before bags are brought in, the culture room should be fumigated with formaldehyde and potassium permanganate for 24 hours. For each cubic meter of space, use 10 milliliters of formaldehyde and 5 grams of potassium permanganate, or fumigate with a disinfectant.

4. Bags infected with contaminating fungi should be removed at any time to prevent the spread of contaminants.

Improper selection of varieties and degeneration of spawn; poor environmental hygiene, insufficient disinfection time during inoculation, or low temperature at the early stage of mycelial growth; excessive humidity in the culture room, and high culture temperature causing fungus burning; during the high-temperature period, water entering the bags when watering for fruiting causes bag burning; poor disinfection of the cultivation site, and improper inspection and removal of contaminated bags; high water content in the bag substrate and improper pH adjustment. Improper variety selection, spawn degeneration, excessive filling amount leading to poor air permeability, poor ventilation, and too low temperature. Too high a culture temperature, too many layers in stacking, excessive budding density, and poor ventilation.

What should be noted during budding

1. Pay attention to ventilation. If ventilation is poor when fruiting bodies emerge and humidity is too high, mycelium can grow again on the small fruit bodies, affecting growth, and in severe cases the fruit bodies degenerate.

2. Fruit bodies should not be cultivated too large; when too large, they are prone to sticking to each other and to the phenomenon of detached buds when divided into beds.

3. To ensure the quality of black fungus and prevent soil from splashing onto the fruit bodies, the method of laying plastic film on the ground can be used.

Prevention and control of common diseases and insect pests of black fungus

1. Black fungus green mold disease

Symptoms: After fungus bags, spawn bottles, the surroundings and fruiting bodies are infected by green mold, white slender mycelium first grows on the culture material or fruiting bodies. After a few days, conidia can form. Once conidia form in large numbers or mature, the colony turns green and powdery.

Control: Maintain clean and hygienic conditions around the fungus yard; the fungus yard must have good ventilation and convenient drainage; after fruiting begins, spray 1% lime water once every three days, which has a good mold-preventing effect; if green mold occurs on the surface of the culture material and has not yet penetrated deep into the material, wipe the affected area with lime water at pH 10, which can control the growth of green mold.

2. Rotten ear (also called flowing ear)

Symptoms: After the fruit bodies mature, they become soft, and the fruit bodies or even the base of the fruit bodies autolyze and rot.

Control: In view of the causes of rotten ear, strengthen cultivation management, paying attention to ventilation, light, and so on; harvest in time, and harvest immediately when the fruit bodies are nearly mature or already mature.

3. Mold prevention on fungus blocks

Causes: Mold contamination of black fungus blocks is an important reason for reduced yield of black fungus blocks and affects product quality; improper cultivation management measures; incomplete sterilization of the culture medium; impure spawn quality, or repeated subculturing of sawdust spawn, reducing spawn vitality; poor toughness of plastic bags, causing punctures during operation and management; poor environmental conditions, all of which can lead to mold occurrence. Penicillium and Trichoderma are the most common contaminating fungi on black fungus blocks.

Control measures: Select strains with relatively strong mold resistance; use fresh raw materials for over-summering; keep the environment clean. During the fruiting period, after harvesting the first batch of fruit bodies, spray 1% lime water, or 1%-2% coal soap solution, or 0.1% carbendazim on the ground once every 3-5 days, or use them alternately, to control the growth of contaminating fungi. Strengthen water management, and water according to the water loss of the fungus blocks and the air flow.

4. Thrips

Damage symptoms: They begin to damage black fungus from the larval stage, invade the fruit bodies and suck the juice, causing the fruit bodies to shrink, and in severe cases causing flowing ear.

Control: Use 500-1000 times dimethoate emulsion, 1000-1500 times 50% wettable trichlorfon solution, etc., and choose residue-free biological pesticide formulations as much as possible.

5. False walking beetle

Damage symptoms: Adults gnaw the outer layer of the fruit bodies, and larvae damage the fruit bodies and the base of the fruit bodies, or bore into the inoculation holes to gnaw the fruiting buds. The damaged base of the fruit bodies no longer produces fruit bodies. Dried fungus stored in the warehouse can still be damaged after absorbing moisture. Larvae produce a large amount of excrement, in the form of dark brown thread-like strands. Adults live long, hide in dead branches and fallen leaves in the cultivation site during the day, and come out to move at night.

Control measures: Clear dead branches and fallen leaves from the cultivation site, and spray 200 times dichlorvos solution, which can kill latent pests. When they occur in large numbers, first pick the fruit bodies, then spray with 1000-1500 times dichlorvos solution to kill them; 500-800 times rotenone and 500-800 times pyrethrum emulsion can also be used for control, and 1000-2000 times 50% wettable trichlorfon solution can also be used to soak the log segments. During the Grain in Ear and End of Heat periods, after each picking of fruit bodies, the above drugs can be sprayed once.

How black fungus is graded

Black fungus is divided into three grades.

Grade 1 fruit bodies have a dark brown surface, a glossy feel, and a gray back, with no curled ear, flowing ear, lost ear, insect-damaged ear, or moldy ear; the pieces are complete and cannot pass through a 2 cm sieve opening; the thickness of the fruit bodies is more than 1 millimeter, and the water content does not exceed 14%.

Grade 2 fruit bodies have a dark brown surface and a dark gray back, with no curled ear, flowing ear, lost ear, insect-damaged ear, or moldy ear; the pieces are basically complete and cannot pass through a sieve opening of 1 cm diameter; the thickness is 0.7 millimeters, and the water content does not exceed 14%.

Grade 3 fruit bodies are mostly dark brown to light brown, with curled ear not exceeding 1%, flowing ear not exceeding 0.5%, and no lost ear, insect-damaged ear, or moldy ear; the pieces are small or fragmented and cannot pass through a sieve opening of 0.4 cm diameter, and the water content does not exceed 14%.

Although we often eat black fungus, many people may not understand its cultivation. Through the above introduction by the editor, we hope it can help friends who cultivate black fungus. In fact, no matter what is cultivated, disease prevention is very important, and black fungus is no exception.