A Detailed Guide to Coprinus comatus Cultivation Techniques and Management Methods

Cultivating Coprinus comatus requires some cultivation raw materials, which are mixed according to a certain ratio. After the substrate is evenly mixed, the moisture content is adjusted to about 65%, and it is piled for fermentation according to conventional methods. Make beds inside a plastic greenhouse or in open fields, remove all the film from the fully colonized mushroom bags, fill with nutrient soil, water thoroughly, and mushrooms will emerge in about 20 days.

I. Cultivation Raw Materials and Formulas

1. Rice straw 80%, dried cow dung 12%, gypsum powder 3%, lime powder 3%, superphosphate 2%.

2. Enoki mushroom spent substrate 60%, corn cobs 20%, corn flour 1%, wheat bran 15%, calcium sulfate 1%, lime 2%, superphosphate 1%.

3. Formula using corn cobs as the raw material

(1) Corn cobs 85%, wheat bran 10%, lime powder 2%, gypsum powder 1%, superphosphate 1%, urea 1%.

(2) Corn cobs 50%, soybean stalk powder (wheat straw powder or corn stalk powder) 35%, wheat bran 10%, urea 1%, lime powder 3%, gypsum powder 1%.

(3) Corn cobs 40%, edible mushroom spent substrate 40% (crushed and sun-dried), wheat bran 10%, wheat chaff or crushed wheat straw 7%, lime powder 2%, gypsum powder 1%.

The moisture content in the above formulas is maintained at 60%-65%.

II. Bagging, Inoculation and Cultivation

After the substrate is evenly mixed, the moisture content is adjusted to about 65%, and it is piled for fermentation according to conventional methods. Use 23 cm × 45 cm polyethylene plastic bags, and carry out bagging and inoculation using the 3-layer spawn and 2-layer substrate mushroom sowing method, with an inoculation rate of 10%-15%. The bags should be packed with uniform looseness from top to bottom, and placed in a cultivation room at 23-25 degrees Celsius for mycelial culture. Pay attention to adjusting the temperature and providing ventilation; the mycelium can fully colonize the bags in 30-35 days.

III. Casing Soil and Fruiting Management

Make beds inside a plastic greenhouse or in open fields, digging bed frames 0.9-1 m wide, 20-25 cm deep, and of unlimited length. Remove all the film from the fully colonized mushroom bags, cut the mushroom logs crosswise into two halves, place them vertically with the cut surface facing down, at a spacing of about 2 cm, and fill with nutrient soil. Water thoroughly, then cover the surface with another 3-4 cm of nutrient soil, and spray with water in a fine mist until thoroughly moistened. Keep the temperature at 12-24 degrees Celsius and the relative humidity at 85%-9096; primordia begin to appear in about 10-15 days, and fruiting bodies form in about 20 days. They can be harvested when they reach seven or eight tenths of maturity, and generally 3-4 flushes of mushrooms can be harvested.