Common questions and answers about tea tree mushroom cultivation

The tea tree mushroom is commonly known as tea shin mushroom, etc. Its scientific name is Agroeyde Chaxingu.Huang Sp.nor. The tea tree mushroom is delicious, crisp and tender, with a delicate fragrance and no off-flavor. The fruiting body contains 18 amino acids and multiple mineral elements. Traditional Chinese medicine holds that the tea tree mushroom is neutral in nature, sweet and warm, and has effects such as removing dampness, promoting urination, and strengthening the spleen and stomach. It is one of the delicious rare edible fungi and is currently the most favored mushroom dish at banquets and in restaurants.

Biological characteristics of the tea tree mushroom

1. Temperature: The tea tree mushroom grows in temperate to subtropical regions, so it is relatively resistant to high temperatures and can also tolerate low temperatures. Its mycelium can grow normally at 5-35°C, with the optimum temperature range being 18-28°C. The tea tree mushroom is a constant-temperature fruiting fungus and does not require a temperature difference stimulus to fruit. Its fruiting body formation temperature is 13-28°C, with the optimum being 18-24°C. At 20°C, fruiting is fast.

2. Moisture: The moisture content of the tea tree mushroom cultivation substrate can be controlled at about 65%, and growth is relatively fast. If the substrate is too dry or too wet, it is unfavorable for mycelial growth. During fruiting body formation, a relatively high air relative humidity is required, while during the growth process a lower humidity is required. Therefore, during the fruiting period, first maintain the air relative humidity at 100%, and after fruiting begins, lower it to 85%, which is beneficial to the development and growth of the fruiting bodies.

3. Air: The tea tree mushroom is an aerobic fungus. During the mycelial growth stage, a supply of fresh air must be ensured, so the cultivation environment for the bags must have good ventilation. However, during the fruiting and fruiting body growth stages, a slightly higher carbon dioxide concentration is required, which is beneficial for fruiting and stem elongation, thereby increasing yield. Therefore, during fruiting body development, ventilation should be appropriately reduced. This phenomenon is similar to the cultivation of enoki mushroom.

4. Nutrition: The tea tree mushroom is a wood-rotting fungus and often grows wild on dead stumps of oil tea trees or on decayed parts of poplar, willow, and other trees. Because it lacks laccase activity, its ability to utilize lignin is weak, but its protease activity is strong and its ability to utilize protein is high. The optimum carbon-to-nitrogen ratio is 60:1. Increasing the proportion of organic nitrogen in the cultivation substrate (such as wheat bran, rice bran, corn flour, cake fertilizer, etc.) is beneficial for increasing yield.

5. Light: The mycelial growth process of the tea tree mushroom usually does not require light, but its fruiting body has obvious phototropism. Both primordium formation and fruiting body development require a certain amount of scattered light. Therefore, during fruiting, the cultivation room should have relatively strong scattered light, which is beneficial to primordium formation and fruiting body growth.

6. pH: The tea tree mushroom prefers to grow in an acidic environment. Mycelium can grow normally at pH 4-6.6, with the optimum pH being 5.5-6. It grows poorly in a neutral to slightly alkaline environment. Therefore, during cultivation, the natural pH can generally be used, but alkalinity should be prevented.

Answers to questions about tea tree mushroom cultivation

1. What are the nutritional conditions for the growth of the tea tree mushroom? The tea tree mushroom is a wood-rotting fungus with relatively weak ability to decompose lignin and cellulose. Wild tea tree mushrooms grow only on oil tea trees. After artificial domestication, broadleaf trees such as tung tree, maple, willow, oak, and white poplar can be used as cultivation materials. However, miscellaneous wood sawdust with a looser texture and lower tannin content is more suitable for the growth of the tea tree mushroom. Wheat bran, rice bran, cake fertilizer, etc. can be fully utilized as nitrogen sources. In addition to miscellaneous wood sawdust, bagasse, rice straw, cottonseed hulls, and mushroom grass can also provide carbon sources. Among carbon sources, mono- and disaccharides are best, while the ability to utilize starch and cellulose is relatively weak. If the cultivation formula contains only glucose, mycelial growth is relatively loose. When a small amount of sucrose is also added, mycelial growth is dense and vigorous. This indicates that mineral elements are involved in the mycelial growth process. 2. What are the temperature conditions for the growth of the tea tree mushroom? The tea tree mushroom is a medium-temperature edible fungus. On PDA medium, spores germinate after 24 hours at 26°C, and after 48 hours, fine mycelium can be seen with the naked eye. The optimum temperature for mycelial growth is 23—28℃. Growth stops above 34°C, and it can be preserved for 3 months at minus 4°C. The temperature range for fruiting body primordium differentiation is 12—26℃, with the optimum temperature being 18—24℃. Lower or higher temperatures will delay primordium differentiation. At lower temperatures, fruiting bodies grow slowly, but the tissue is firm, the mushroom shape is larger, and the quality is good; at higher temperatures, the caps open easily and long-stemmed, thin-capped mushrooms form. 3. What kind of moisture is needed for the growth of the tea tree mushroom? The moisture content of the cultivation medium for the tea tree mushroom should be kept at 60%—65%. That is, when you grab a handful of the medium and squeeze hard, the spaces between your fingers are moist, with slight water droplets but not dripping, and when you release your fingers it forms a lump that breaks apart after falling to the ground. However, different types and thicknesses of sawdust vary slightly, so it should be controlled flexibly. During mycelial growth, the air relative humidity should be below 70%; during the fruiting body formation and development period, it should be 85%—95%, and appropriately lowered during the growth period to extend the product's freshness period. 4. What are the air, light, and pH requirements for the growth of the tea tree mushroom? The tea tree mushroom is an aerobic macrofungus and is very sensitive to carbon dioxide. Poor ventilation and excessively high carbon dioxide concentration easily cause slow mycelial growth, thick and long fruiting body stipes, small caps, early cap opening, deformed mushrooms, and other phenomena. The tea tree mushroom is a light-requiring fungus, and its fruiting body has phototropic growth characteristics. Suitable diffuse light is a necessary condition for completing its normal life cycle. During the mycelial culture period, it still grows under dark conditions, but does not form fruiting bodies. Fruiting bodies do not differentiate easily without light. The suitable light intensity is 50—300 lux. Tea tree mushroom mycelium prefers a weakly acidic environment, with the optimum pH being 5.5—6.5. At pH below 4 or above 6.5, mycelial growth is sparse and slow. 5. What cultivation forms does the tea tree mushroom have? Tea tree mushroom cultivation is divided by season into spring cultivation and autumn cultivation. In spring cultivation, proper insulation is needed during the mycelial culture stage. In the later stage of fruiting body growth, the temperature rises, growth is fast, the fruiting bodies are smaller in shape, quality is relatively poorer, and they are more susceptible to pests and diseases. In autumn cultivation, after inoculation, the mycelial culture temperature is more suitable. Fruiting bodies formed at lower temperatures are larger, of good quality, with less pest and disease contamination, higher biological conversion rate, and good economic benefits. As for cultivation sites, both indoor and outdoor cultivation can be used. Cultivation forms are divided into shelf-style bag cultivation, wall-style bag cultivation, and bed-style soil-covering cultivation, etc. Each place can choose according to local conditions. 6. What formulas are there for the tea tree mushroom culture medium? Formula 1: miscellaneous wood sawdust 76%, wheat bran 20%, sugar 1%, superphosphate 1%, calcium carbonate 1%, gypsum 1%; Formula 2: miscellaneous wood sawdust 68%, wheat bran 15%, tea seed cake powder 15%, sugar 1%, gypsum powder 1%; Formula 3: miscellaneous wood sawdust 58%, cottonseed hulls 20%, wheat bran 20%, sugar 1%, gypsum powder 1%; Formula 4: miscellaneous wood sawdust 60%, bagasse 18%, wheat bran or rice bran 20%, superphosphate 1%, gypsum powder 1%; Formula 5: miscellaneous wood sawdust 60%, corncob 20%, wheat bran or rice bran 19%, gypsum powder 1%; The moisture content of the above formulas is 60%, with natural pH. For autumn cultivation, 0.1%—0.2% carbendazim should be added; in oil tea cultivation areas, 10% tea seed shell powder can be added, which can effectively increase yield. 7. How should the site be selected and disinfected for indoor bag cultivation? Indoor bag cultivation can use greenhouses, mushroom houses, and idle empty rooms, etc., and the entire process from spawning to fruiting is completed in the same place. The microclimate of indoor bag cultivation is easy to control artificially, convenient to manage, and makes it easy to obtain high quality and high yield. It is also suitable for factory cultivation. The site used for indoor bag cultivation should be clean and hygienic, far from workshops, warehouses, and poultry and livestock pens, with good temperature regulation and light transmission. Before cultivation, comprehensive insect killing and disinfection must be carried out. First, clean and wash thoroughly, then spray a 500—800 times dilution of dichlorvos solution to kill insects. After 3—5 days, fumigate and disinfect with sulfur or formaldehyde solution to prevent the breeding of contaminating microorganisms. 8. How should mixing, bagging, and sterilization be done for indoor bag cultivation? According to the selected cultivation formula, weigh the various raw materials, add water and mix evenly so that the moisture content reaches 60%—65%, and fill by hand or with a bagging machine into 17×33×0.005 cm polypropylene gusseted bags, with consistent tightness and a level substrate surface. The filling height is 13—15 cm, and the top is sealed with a cottonless cap or a ring with a cotton plug. Sterilize at normal pressure at 100°C for 10 hours, then let it sit overnight, or sterilize at 0.138 MPa for 1.5 hours. 9. How should inoculation and culture be done for indoor bag cultivation? After the material bags are sterilized and cooled, under sterile conditions insert 1 spatula of spawn, and put on a cottonless cap or a ring with a cotton plug. The spawn should be kept in blocks as much as possible to avoid being too broken, which may cause spawn death. Place the inoculated bags upright on indoor shelves and culture at 25i 2℃ for 45—55 days, and the mycelium will fill the entire bag. During the spawning period, keep the room as dark as possible. 10. How is the tea tree mushroom harvested? Not only the cap of the tea tree mushroom is edible, but the stipe is also very crisp and tender, so it should be harvested together with the cap and stipe. After the fruiting bodies emerge, harvest when the caps are still curled inward and spores have not yet been produced in large quantities. A one-time harvest can be used, or a staged harvest method of picking large ones and leaving small ones, and picking old ones and leaving young ones. During staged harvesting, care should be taken to protect the young mushrooms. Generally, 3—4 flushes can be harvested, and every 100 kg of dry material can produce 60—70 kg of fresh mushrooms. After harvesting, trim off the root portion and attached impurities from the fruiting bodies and they can be sold fresh on the market. They can also be dried, graded, packaged, and sold far away, or graded and then quick-frozen for freshness preservation or processed into canned mushrooms in brine. 11. What technical indicators does the tea tree mushroom have? (1) Sensory indicators. Color: light yellow to yellow-brown, with the center of the cap darker in color and the broth clear; taste and odor: has the taste and odor that tea tree mushroom canned product should have, with a delicate fragrance and no off-flavor; tissue form: mushroom shape basically intact, caps elastic, a small amount of cracking allowed, no serious deformities, stipes crisp and tender, and stipe lengths consistent within the same can. (2) Physicochemical indicators. Solid content: not less than 5% of net weight; brine concentration: 0.8%—1.5%; microbiological indicators: no pathogenic bacteria and no spoilage caused by microbial action.