A Detailed Guide to Practical Techniques for Planting and Cultivating Polyporus umbellatus

1. Site selection and land preparation. Cultivate in primary broadleaf forests, mixed forests or secondary forests, such as under birch, oak, maple, Mongolian oak, willow and other trees, and do not plant in coniferous forests. Choose an altitude of 1000-2000 m, and for terrain choose shaded slopes or semi-shaded and semi-sunny slopes, with a slope of 15-45 degrees. For the soil, a humus layer of more than 20 cm is best, and slightly acidic soil with a water content of about 40% is suitable. Saline-alkali land and peat land are not suitable for cultivation. After selecting the site, dig holes (also called pits) along the slope with a length of 70 cm, a width of 60 cm, a depth of 18-20 cm, and a hole spacing of 50 cm.

2. Materials (calculated per square meter). 3 bottles of Polyporus umbellatus spawn, 3 bottles of Armillaria spawn and a certain amount of spawn wood sticks (diameter 5-10 cm, length 50 cm), Polyporus umbellatus growth hormone, broadleaf tree leaves, and a mixture of leaves and humus soil.

3. Spread leaves at the bottom of the hole. Spread leaves to a thickness of 2-3 cm, break the Armillaria into small pieces of 1-2 cm and evenly scatter them on the leaves, then evenly scatter the Polyporus umbellatus growth hormone on the leaves, place the spawn wood (wood sticks) on the leaves covered with Armillaria, with a spacing of about 3-5 cm between the spawn wood, fill the gaps between the spawn wood with the mixture, break the Polyporus umbellatus spawn into pieces of about 2 cm, evenly place them on both sides and the ends of the spawn wood, then cover with about 3 cm of leaves, cover the leaves with about 10 cm of humus soil, and then cover the top of the hole with leaves again.

Spawn cultivation The key to Polyporus umbellatus lies in the quality of the Polyporus umbellatus spawn. High-quality Polyporus umbellatus spawn has thick and strong hyphae, a reticular mycorrhiza on the surface, and strong hyphal sprouting ability, with a high success rate. When the ground temperature is above 15 degrees C, the hyphae colonize 5 days after spot sowing, and after 20-30 days the hyphae extend into the soil in a root-network form, and after 60 days white spherical young sclerotia begin to form in the leaves and soil layer.

4. Temperature. Polyporus umbellatus can germinate when the average ground temperature at a depth of 10 cm reaches 9.5 degrees C, grows fastest at 18-22 degrees C, grows slowly above 28 degrees C, and stops growing below 9 degrees C or above 30 degrees C.

5. Harvesting and processing. The maturity period when sown with pure Polyporus umbellatus spawn is about 3 years (5-6 years when cultivated by the old method). When Polyporus umbellatus is black in color and hard in texture (called old sclerotium), it can be harvested in spring from April to May or in autumn from July to September.

Remove impurities from the harvested Polyporus umbellatus sclerotia, scrub them clean, and dry them in the sun to obtain the commercial medicinal material. Put them in hemp bags or bamboo baskets and store them in a dry, ventilated place for sale. Those whose outer skin is glossy black, heavy, and firm, and whose cross-section is white or yellow are top grade.