A Detailed Guide to Identifying Common Mushroom Pests and Diseases and Chemical Control Measures

Mushrooms are a food ingredient we commonly eat in our daily lives, with a great many varieties and many ways to prepare them, and they are deeply loved by consumers. However, mushroom cultivation and management are very strict, and pests and diseases can invade with the slightest carelessness. So what common pests and diseases do mushrooms have? What chemical control measures are there?

I. What common pests and diseases do mushrooms have?

1. Common mushroom diseases

Mushrooms have many diseases, which can mainly be divided into two types: infectious and non-infectious.

Infectious diseases mainly refer to mushrooms being invaded by different kinds of pathogenic microorganisms during specific growth stages, causing different diseases. This type of disease is highly contagious, so it can also be called a contagious disease; common ones include fungi, viruses, bacteria, and so on.

Non-infectious diseases mainly refer to diseases caused by mushrooms feeling uncomfortable in their growing environment or by improper cultivation management, such as unsuitable temperature, unsuitable humidity, poor ventilation, improper pesticide use, and other reasons. This type of disease has no pathogen and will not spread between mushrooms; as long as the causing factors are discovered in time, the disease can be well eliminated and will not recur.

During the mushroom mycelium cultivation process, the infectious diseases that are relatively likely to appear include Trichoderma, Rhizopus, Mucor, Aspergillus, Neurospora, Penicillium, putrefactive bacteria, yeast, white plaster mold, brown plaster mold, ink cap, Pseudobalsamia microspora, Panaeolus, wilt disease, brown rot, soft rot, yellow mold, fish-roe fungus, cottony weed mold, viral disease, olive-green mold, Alternaria, slime mold, and so on. Common non-infectious diseases include mycelium overgrowth, failure to germinate, shrinking, and similar phenomena.

During the mushroom fruiting period, besides the pathogens mentioned above, there are also rough stipe disease, bacterial brown blotch disease, downy mildew, field yellow Pseudomonas disease, gill droop disease, dry rot, mushroom starspore parasitic mushroom disease, and so on. Non-infectious diseases include dead mushrooms and various abnormal mushrooms such as earthmine mushrooms.

2. Common mushroom pests

During the mycelium cultivation period, the pests that are relatively likely to appear include mites, mushroom gnats, nematodes, the larvae of mushroom flies, and so on; during the fruiting period, pests such as springtails, snails, slugs, and earwigs may also occur. Besides the pests mentioned above, rats are also a rather troublesome “pest,” because they will steal and eat wheat grains and destroy the casing soil layer, mushroom beds, and so on.

II. What chemical control measures are there for common mushroom pests and diseases?

1. After the mushroom bed is covered with soil, some carbendazim liquid or formaldehyde

aqueous solution can be sprayed around it to prevent the appearance of pests and diseases.

2. During the fruiting management period, about once a month a professional pesticide can be sprayed inside the mushroom house, which can effectively control the occurrence of pests and diseases.

3. No matter at which stage mushroom pests and diseases are discovered, they must be treated with medication in time. The medications used for different pests and diseases are also different and cannot be lumped together, so we should pay attention to the application time and application instructions for each disease.