A Detailed Guide to Morel Mushroom Cultivation Techniques and an Analysis of 2019 Market Prices
Morel mushroom (Morchella) is a precious medicinal and edible fungus. Wild morels usually grow deep in remote mountains and forests, and they are difficult to harvest, so their price is very high. However, this rare mushroom has now been cultivated artificially, so next we will introduce morel mushrooms
Morel mushroom (Morchella) is a precious medicinal and edible fungus. Wild morels usually grow deep in remote mountains and forests, and they are difficult to harvest, so their price is very high. However, this rare mushroom has now been cultivated artificially, so next we will introduce artificial morel mushroom cultivation techniques.
I. Morel Mushroom Cultivation Techniques
1. Planting Time
Morel mushrooms like moisture and generally fruit during the rainy seasons in spring and summer. 21°C to 24°C is the most suitable temperature for its growth stage, so it is best to cultivate the spawn from October to December, before the arrival of Frost's Descent (the last of the 24 solar terms in autumn).
2. Temperature and Light
Spawn cultivation needs to be carried out in a place without light, while during the growth stage sufficient light must be ensured. When cultivating morel mushrooms artificially, the light in the mushroom house can be adjusted appropriately. Usually, direct light is used in the morning; after 1 p.m., diffused light is used; and after 4 p.m., the plants need to be shaded from light.
3. Soil
At present, artificial cultivation techniques mainly simulate the growing environment of wild morel mushrooms. People have found large numbers of morels on the humus layer of broad-leaved forests or mixed broad-leaved and coniferous forests, so these are used as a reference for cultivation. First, choose alkaline soil with a pH value between 6.5 and 7.5; it grows best in limestone or chalk soil. In addition, it can also grow in humus soil, black or yellow loam, and sandy mixed soil.
4. Management
Before starting cultivation, the land needs to be plowed and prepared in the early spring of the previous year, and other vegetation on the ground should be removed. One month before sowing, apply an appropriate amount of humus fertilizer to increase the phosphorus and potassium content in the soil. In order to promote the fruiting speed of morel mushrooms and improve yield and quality, a layer of plant ash can be spread on the mushroom bed before watering, or an appropriate amount of potassium fertilizer can be sprayed.
5. Fruiting
After the morel fruiting bodies emerge from the soil, they grow and mature in 7-10 days. At this time, the color of the mushroom surface gradually changes from dark gray to light gray, or brownish yellow. Harvesting can begin once the honeycomb-like depressions on the cap have fully stretched out. If cultivated in southern regions, the best fruiting period is from March 10 to April 20. Morel mushrooms can fruit once every 1 month, and after each harvest, appropriate additional fertilizer must be applied and the room temperature and air humidity adjusted. After harvesting, the soil should be cleaned off, and the mushrooms should be sun-dried or oven-dried in time and sealed in plastic bags for storage.
II. The Market Situation of Morel Mushrooms
Artificial cultivation has greatly increased the yield of morel mushrooms. Generally, the fruiting amount can reach 40 mushrooms per sq m, and with good cultivation it can exceed 200 per sq m. At present, the market price of premium morel mushrooms is about 2000—3000 yuan per kg. The product is in a seller's market and is mainly used for export.
Have you learned all the morel mushroom cultivation techniques? There is a relatively large amount of room for manual intervention in mushroom cultivation, so yields and quality vary. Learning scientific cultivation techniques can get twice the result with half the effort.