Complete Guide to Lingzhi (Reishi) Cultivation Techniques: 2019 Edition

Lingzhi is a typical representative of “medicinal and edible homology,” and artificial cultivation can now be achieved, with lingzhi cultivation techniques becoming increasingly refined. For those friends who want to try growing lingzhi in 2019, don't miss this complete guide to lingzhi cultivation techniques!

Lingzhi cultivation is basically divided into two major culture methods: solid and liquid. Next, let's take a detailed look at how to carry out each specific operation.

I. Lingzhi Solid Culture Cultivation Techniques

In lingzhi solid culture cultivation, lingzhi is mainly cultivated through the basswood cultivation method.

1. Method Overview

For basswood simulated-wild cultivation, first it is necessary to isolate and select pure, high-quality, vigorous lingzhi mother strains, then inoculate them onto broadleaf tree basswood cut to 15—20cm in length and 6—15cm in diameter, and then cultivate them on a warm bed.

2. Cultivation Cycle

Basswood-cultivated lingzhi takes about 9 months to 1 year from breeding to harvest. When mature, the cap will be reddish-brown and the underside of the cap will be cream-colored. This is the period when medicinal components are most abundant and it should be harvested immediately; otherwise, after the spore powder is released and lost and the cap becomes lignified (as is often seen in wild lingzhi), the medicinal components will be almost completely lost.

3. Cultivation Characteristics

After drying, basswood-cultivated lingzhi is thick, hard, and complete in nutrients and medicinal components. This cultivation method is better than using sawdust or liquid culture, as it is easier to control quality and less prone to contamination. The quality of the lingzhi cultivated this way is the best, but its cost is relatively higher.

II. Lingzhi Liquid Culture Cultivation Techniques

1. Method Overview

The basic process of submerged liquid fermentation culture of lingzhi fungus is:

Production strain→spore preparation→seed preparation→fermentation→fermentation products (extraction, refinement)→product.

In the process of submerged liquid fermentation production, there are 3 main factors affecting the production cycle, production level and production cost:

(1) Production strain;

(2) Medium composition;

(3) Fermentation process parameters.

2. Factor Analysis

The medium composition for submerged culture and the ratios among its components not only greatly affect the growth, morphology and structure of lingzhi mycelium, but also have a great impact on the production of metabolites and their subsequent extraction. Therefore, choosing a suitable medium is very important.

For lingzhi submerged fermentation, glucose and corn flour are selected as combined carbon sources, yeast extract and soybean flour are selected as combined nitrogen sources, and a certain amount of VB1 is added at the same time.

Corn flour can reduce costs on the one hand, and on the other hand can increase the viscosity of the medium, which helps increase the number of inoculation points. Soybean flour can likewise reduce production costs, and as a compound organic nitrogen source, it is more conducive to utilization by the fungal cells.

Overall, basswood-cultivated lingzhi has a long growth cycle (more than 2—3 months), is greatly affected by the environment, has low yield, unstable quality and high production costs, while liquid-cultivated lingzhi can shorten the cultivation cycle, but is more technically demanding.