Key Points of Oyster Mushroom Harvesting Techniques and Methods for Preventing and Controlling Bacterial Diseases

The oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus) is a common edible mushroom with a delicious flavor and rich nutritional value, especially suitable for making soup. During the cultivation of oyster mushrooms, harvesting is also a very critical step, and the corresponding key harvesting techniques must be mastered. In addition, after oyster mushroom harvesting, the mushrooms are also easily infected by bacterial diseases. Let's take a look below at the specific prevention and control methods.

I. Key Points of Oyster Mushroom Harvesting Techniques

Growing oyster mushrooms is a skilled task, and harvesting is likewise a science. Scientific harvesting of oyster mushrooms not only ensures that the yield is not reduced, but also benefits the subsequent management of the mushroom house. Let's take a look below at the key points of oyster mushroom harvesting.

First, before harvesting oyster mushrooms, water should be sprayed once, which can effectively raise the air humidity inside the oyster mushroom shed, so that the caps can remain clean and fresh and are not prone to cracking. However, too much water should not be sprayed at one time, especially on fruit bodies that have already been harvested, as too much water can easily cause rotting.

Second, if most of the oyster mushrooms in the same cluster have already matured, harvest them all together regardless of size, because the small ones will still continue to grow. Generally, harvesting in two rounds is better. As long as most of the oyster mushrooms on the mushroom bed have matured, the bed should be cleared to facilitate the management of the next flush of oyster mushrooms.

Third, for solitary oyster mushrooms, you can hold down the substrate at the base of the stem with one hand and gently twist off the stem with the other hand. For clustered oyster mushrooms, hard pulling is taboo, as it may cause a whole chunk of substrate to be lifted up, so we generally use a knife held close to the surface of the bed to cut the oyster mushrooms off.

Fourth, because the caps of oyster mushrooms are relatively prone to cracking, movements must be gentle after harvesting, and in particular the number of times they are set down should be reduced. The harvested mushrooms should be placed in smooth, clean containers to avoid damaging them. A layer of wet paper towel can be placed over the surface of the oyster mushrooms to maintain their moisture.

After harvesting the first flush of oyster mushrooms, let the surface of the substrate dry for about a week, then spray water once more and cover with plastic film, which can stimulate the oyster mushrooms to produce mushrooms.

II. Prevention and Control of Bacterial Diseases After Oyster Mushroom Harvesting

If oyster mushrooms are over-harvested, dark brown watery rot is very likely to appear at both ends of the mushroom bag, making it difficult for the second flush of mushrooms to emerge. This phenomenon is mainly soft rot caused by bacterial infection of oyster mushrooms. Once oyster mushrooms are infected with soft rot, the mycelium degenerates, the color of the surface of the substrate bag darkens, the mushroom bodies soften, and watery rot occurs, along with a foul, rotting odor.

There are three reasons for the appearance of soft rot in oyster mushrooms. First, after oyster mushrooms are harvested, many wounds appear on the substrate bag, which gives bacteria an opportunity to infect; then some growers increase the amount of water sprayed to promote the growth of oyster mushrooms, which causes relatively high humidity at both ends of the substrate bag. Second, it may be due to the prolonged influence of rainy weather, with very high humidity inside the mushroom shed, poor ventilation conditions, and relatively low temperatures, leading to the invasion of bacterial diseases. Third, some growers do not disinfect the mushroom shed before the substrate bags are brought into the shed, and the bacteria brought in multiply and grow massively in this environment favorable to their growth, naturally attacking the oyster mushrooms.

In summary, the temperature and humidity of the mushroom shed should be well controlled, the mushroom shed should be properly disinfected, and the light and ventilation conditions inside the shed should be adjusted, so as to reduce bacterial diseases after oyster mushroom harvesting.