How to Mist-Irrigate Black Wood Ear? Key Technical Points Explained
Black wood ear is something we eat often in our daily lives, especially wood ear stir-fried with meat, which I think many people have eaten. The nutritional value of wood ear is very high, and eating it regularly is very helpful for lowering blood pressure and blood sugar, so middle-aged and elderly people can eat more wood ear, which is very good for their health.
What Is Black Wood Ear
Black wood ear, also known as black vegetable, mulberry ear, ben fungus, tree chicken, wood moth, and wood velvet, gets its name because it resembles an ear and is dark brown in color. Black wood ear is a plant of the Auriculariaceae family; its nature is neutral and its taste is sweet, and it enters the stomach and large intestine meridians. It has the effects of nourishing, moistening dryness, nourishing blood and benefiting the stomach, activating blood and stopping bleeding, moistening the lungs, and moistening the intestines. Black wood ear is a nutrient-rich edible fungus, and it is also a traditional health food and export commodity of our country. It has many alias names: because it grows on rotting wood and its shape resembles a human ear, it is called wood ear; because it also stands like a moth or butterfly, it is also called wood moth; because its flavor is as savory as chicken, it is also called tree chicken and wood ji (the ancient people of southern Chu called chicken "ji"); double-layered wood ear interlock with each other on the tree, like drifting clouds, so it also has the name cloud ear.
Morphological Characteristics of Black Wood Ear
Wood ear refers to edible fungi of the genus Auricularia (scientific name: Auricularia or Wood ear). The fruiting body is gelatinous, disc-shaped or ear-shaped and irregular, with a diameter of 3-12 cm. It is soft when fresh and becomes horny after drying. It has many alias names: because it grows on rotting wood and its shape resembles a human ear, it is called wood ear; because it also stands like a moth or butterfly, it is also called wood moth; because its flavor is as savory as chicken, it is also called tree chicken and wood ji (the ancient people of southern Chu called chicken "ji"); double-layered wood ear interlock with each other on the tree, like drifting clouds, so it also has the name cloud ear. The wood ear that people commonly eat is mainly of two types:
One has a smooth, black ventral surface and a hairy, gray or grayish-brown dorsal surface, called hairy wood ear or coarse wood ear (commonly known as wild wood ear);
The other is smooth on both sides, dark brown, and semi-transparent, called black wood ear, fine wood ear, or smooth wood ear. Hairy wood ear has a larger area, but its texture is coarse and tough, not easy to chew, poor in taste, and low in price. Black wood ear is soft in texture and fresh in taste, smooth yet crisp, and rich in nutrients. It is the type that is cultivated artificially in large quantities, and there is also a main natural wild production area in Lushi County.
How to Mist-Irrigate Black Wood Ear
Black wood ear belongs to the mesophilic group of fungi, and mostly produces ears under conditions where the temperature reaches above 20°C in late spring and early summer, so it has relatively high water requirements, and the relative humidity should be maintained at 85%-90%. If the humidity is too low, it will affect primordium formation and fruiting body development. But watering too much can easily lead to ear rot and disease outbreaks. Practice has proved that using mist irrigation to cultivate ears can achieve stable and high yields. The relevant techniques are introduced as follows.
1. The mist irrigation facility consists of high-pressure polyethylene plastic pipes at three levels - main, branch, and capillary - along with micro atomizing nozzles and pipe fittings. The main pipe diameter is 40-50 mm, the branch pipe diameter is 25-32 mm, and the capillary pipe diameter is 10-12 mm. During installation, the main pipe is connected to the water source and is perpendicular to the branch pipes; the branch pipes are perpendicular to each ear log; the capillary pipes (generally 15 m long) are parallel to each ear log and suspended above it. The atomizing nozzles are spaced 1.5-2 m apart and installed on the same side of the capillary pipe (facing the ear log), so that during spraying the ear log receives water evenly.
2. Key points of mist irrigation technology
① Mist irrigation timing. Every spring is the golden season for cultivating black wood ear. At this time, mist irrigation can produce 1-2 more flushes of spring ears, and this increased production accounts for more than 80% of the total increase. Therefore, May-June should be regarded as the key period for increasing production through mist irrigation. In July, if high temperatures do not occur (below 30°C), persisting with mist irrigation to lower temperature and increase humidity can still allow harvesting of 1-2 flushes of ears.
② Each mist irrigation session should be longer than 0.5 hour and shorter than 2 hours. The length of mist irrigation is closely related to conditions such as dry or wet weather, high or low temperature, and the water content of the ear log. When the weather is dry, the temperature is high, and the water content of the ear log is low, the mist irrigation time can be appropriately extended; otherwise, the mist irrigation time can be appropriately shortened. When the water content of the ear log approaches the lower limit of the water content suitable for ear primordium growth (about 50%), there is mycelial growth and fruiting body development.
③ Mist irrigation should preferably be intermittent water supply. In the early stage of the ear log, the water absorption rate is relatively fast and the water utilization rate is high. Each mist irrigation must not be less than 0.5 hour, and the interval between two irrigations should be about 0.5 hour; in the middle and late stages, the irrigation interval can be appropriately lengthened (1-1.5 hours).
In this way, water can be saved and the water utilization rate can be improved, keeping the relative humidity of the ear yard suitable, so that pests and diseases are not caused by excessive humidity, which is beneficial to ear blade growth.
④ Mist irrigation requirements for factory-based ear cultivation. For factory-based ear cultivation, if temperature control facilities are available, it can be carried out all year round. Factory cultivation mostly uses substitute materials (bagged sawdust, cottonseed hulls, etc.) to cultivate ears. During the ear emergence period after arranging the bags (stacked in wall style), mist irrigate once every 2-3 hours during the day, 0.5 hour each time, and the room temperature is generally kept at 20-25°C, with air humidity maintained at 80%-90%. If high-temperature weather occurs (exceeding 28°C), one additional mist irrigation should be added at noon to help lower temperature and increase humidity, which is beneficial to the growth and development of wood ear fruiting bodies.
As people's understanding of black wood ear continues to increase, many people in the market have now begun to cultivate black wood ear. The cultivation of black wood ear also requires attention to certain techniques and skills. Even when cultivating the same black wood ear, some people can obtain good returns, while others achieve nothing.