A Detailed Guide to Shiitake Mushroom Cultivation Techniques and Growing Management Methods
Shiitake mushroom cultivation includes selecting the strain, choosing a site, inoculation, stacking for mycelial growth, and temperature control. During the growing management period, note that the mycelial growth of shiitake mushrooms must begin immediately after inoculation; after that, it is enough to carry out the tasks of bag colour change, moisture retention to force mushroom formation, and harvesting of the fruiting bodies.
When harvesting shiitake mushrooms, note the following points:
1. Harvesting method
Generally, harvest when the cap has opened 70-80%, the edge of the cap is still curled inward, and the inner veil beneath the gills has only recently broken; at this point the shape, quality and flavour of the mushroom are all relatively good. If you wait until the cap is 90% open to harvest, because the post-harvest ripening of shiitake mushrooms is fairly pronounced, the cap will still open further and affect the grade of the mushroom. If you wait until the cap is fully open, after drying the edge of the cap curls upward, forming a thin mushroom, the stem fibres increase, and the quality of the mushroom is relatively poor.
2. Post-harvest management
Log cultivation of shiitake mushrooms has the characteristic of a single inoculation producing mushrooms for many years. Fruiting occurs mostly in spring and autumn. When the cap has not yet fully opened, that is, the edge of the cap is still slightly curled inward and the veil has just broken, it is the optimal time for harvesting. The yield can reach 10-15 jin/m3.
After several months of fruiting body growth and development, the mushroom logs have used most of the nutrients they originally accumulated to grow shiitake mushrooms. In order to produce high-yield, high-quality shiitake mushrooms the following year, the logs need to continue recovering their growth and accumulating substances. Therefore, after the shiitake harvesting period ends, restore the mycelial vigour and accumulate nutrients as quickly as possible. After the mushroom logs have been fully harvested, move the logs back to the stacking yard and repeat the earlier process, namely stacking, replenishing water, raising them on racks, and so on.
3. Grading after harvest
Once the mycelium has formed fruiting bodies, they can grow and develop even at relatively high or relatively low temperatures, but the quality produced this way is different. At low temperatures, “winter mushrooms” of relatively good quality with short stems and thick flesh are formed; at high temperatures, “xiangxin” mushrooms of relatively poor quality, thin flesh and relatively long stems are easily formed.
Temperature is very important in shiitake mushroom cultivation. When the fruiting bodies are forming, be sure not to let them sit at temperatures of 20 degrees or above, so that low-quality shiitake mushrooms can be avoided as much as possible.