Detailed Explanation of Key Management Points for Bag Cultivation of Shaggy Mane Mushroom
The Shaggy Mane mushroom, also known as Coprinus comatus, is a common name for the shaggy ink cap. It is named for its chicken-leg-like shape and its flesh and flavor resembling shredded chicken. It is a rare mushroom variety with commercial potential developed through artificial cultivation in recent years, and is hailed as a “rising star among mushrooms”. The Shaggy Mane mushroom is rich in nutrients and delicious in taste, with an excellent mouthfeel. Regular consumption helps stimulate appetite, aid digestion and enhance human immunity, and it has very high nutritional value.
Environmental requirements of the Shaggy Mane mushroom
1. Nutrition. The Shaggy Mane mushroom is a straw-decaying, dung-inhabiting, soil-inhabiting fungus with extremely strong adaptability. The materials it can utilize are very wide-ranging, such as rice straw, wheat straw, cottonseed hulls, cow dung and horse dung, and it can also make good use of various hardwood sawdusts. It can be cultivated with sterilized substrate, fermented substrate, or raw substrate.
2. Temperature. The optimum temperature for mycelial growth is 20-28°C, with best growth at 24-27°C. Fruit body formation requires low-temperature stimulation; after the incubation temperature drops below 20°C, fruit body primordia form quickly. The fruiting temperature range is 9-28°C, but 12-18°C is suitable, and above 20°C the stipe elongates rapidly and the cap opens. At 16-22°C the number of fruit bodies produced is the greatest and the yield is the highest. The mycelium of the Shaggy Mane mushroom has quite strong cold resistance; at minus 30°C, the mycelium in the soil can safely overwinter, while above 35°C the mycelium will self-liquefy. Generally, below 8°C or above 30°C, fruit bodies are difficult to form.
3. Humidity. A substrate moisture content of 65%-70% is extremely suitable for mycelial growth, and during the fruiting stage a relative air humidity of 85%-95% is required.
4. Light and ventilation. Mushroom bud differentiation requires a light intensity of 300-500 lux, and sufficient oxygen.
5. pH value. The Shaggy Mane mushroom prefers a neutral to slightly alkaline substrate; the pH of the substrate and casing soil should preferably be 7.0-7.5.
6. Soil. Fruiting of the Shaggy Mane mushroom requires stimulation from microorganisms and minerals in the soil. Without soil, the number of fruit bodies formed is greatly reduced. Cultivation requires casing soil.
Key management points for bag cultivation of the Shaggy Mane mushroom
(1) Substrate formula
Rice straw 78%, cottonseed hulls 15%, wheat bran 3%, lime 1-2%, gypsum powder 2%, pH adjusted to about 8; the lime used to adjust pH can vary slightly. Bag filling and spawn production follow conventional handling. (2) Seasonal arrangement
The mycelial growth temperature of the Shaggy Mane mushroom is 8-38°C, with an optimum of 18-25°C; the fruiting temperature is 12-28°C, with an optimum of 16-25°C, so it belongs to the medium-high temperature type. When other conditions are the same, temperature significantly affects the biological conversion rate of the Shaggy Mane mushroom. In April and October, because the air temperature is most suitable for the growth of Shaggy Mane mycelium, the biological conversion rate is quite high, at 141% and 152% respectively. The lowest biological efficiency, only 81%, occurs in July and August. In order to obtain higher yields, the fruiting period from September to May of the following year is relatively suitable. (3) Bag cultivation
For the sunken bed, choose a site with high terrain, fertile soil, convenient drainage, close to a water source and with a clean surrounding environment, 150 cm wide, 30 cm deep, and of unlimited length. After digging, water thoroughly; when slightly dry, loosen the bottom of the pit, rake it level, and at the same time apply compound fertilizer and spray chemicals to achieve the purpose of disease and pest prevention. Fill bags and sow spawn by conventional methods; after about 20-25 days the mycelium can fill the bags, and about 10 days after the bags are full, remove the bags, then arrange the bags upright in the pit. (4) Effect of oxygen supply
The Shaggy Mane mushroom is an aerobic saprophytic fungus, so it requires a large amount of oxygen during its growth process. Practice shows that the oxygen demand of the Shaggy Mane mushroom varies greatly among the stages of its entire life cycle. During the mycelial growth stage, the oxygen demand is basically the same as that of the oyster mushroom, while during the fruit body growth stage it is greater than that of the oyster mushroom. A suitable oxygen content in the air can significantly improve the growth of Shaggy Mane mycelium, because suitable oxygen enhances the mycelium's ability to decompose the culture substrate; oxygen supply is an important factor in increasing the yield of the Shaggy Mane mushroom. (5) Light
Suitable light can promote mycelial growth. Practice shows that when the light intensity is less than 10 lux, mycelial growth is quite slow, and fruiting is delayed by about 7-11 days on average compared with normal conditions. Fruit bodies also grow very slowly without light stimulation, with harvest delayed by 5-9 days on average, and the biological efficiency is also average, at about 100%. When the light is too strong, if it reaches above 1500 lux, both mycelial and fruit body growth are slower than below 10 lux; at this time fruit body growth is not only slow, but the quality is poor, dry and pale yellow in color, with little commercial value. The most ideal light intensity is generally 70-800 lux. Shaggy Mane mushrooms grown under such light fruit quickly, have high yields and good quality, and are not easily infected by contaminating microorganisms during the growing period, giving high commercial value. (6) Casing soil
Because the Shaggy Mane mushroom has the characteristic of not fruiting when the mycelium does not contact soil, casing soil is necessary. The casing material uses 50% garden soil, 40% river silt soil, 8% plant ash, plus 1-2% lime powder, mixed and stirred evenly, and finally sprayed with water to moisten, with a moisture content of 60-70%; the limit should be that it forms a ball when squeezed and breaks apart when dropped. The casing thickness is generally 3-5 cm, and the best soil particle size does not exceed 2 cm in diameter. After casing, if the temperature is about 18-25°C, after 10 days a large number of rhizomorphs appear in the soil, and fruit bodies then form accordingly. (7) Harvesting
The fruit bodies of the Shaggy Mane mushroom grow large after 7-8 days, and should be harvested promptly when the cap has not yet opened. Otherwise, the black spores released after the Shaggy Mane mushroom matures and opens its cap can cause self-liquefaction of the fruit bodies, which will greatly reduce the commercial value of the Shaggy Mane mushroom. For nutrient solution supplementation, after the first flush spray the casing layer with 500-fold Gaomeishi liquid fertilizer, and after the third flush spray the casing layer with 1% compound fertilizer supernatant. Generally, this can increase yield by 25-35%. One biological cycle can yield 3-5 flushes, and the biological efficiency can reach 150-170%.