Key Points of Spawn Running Management and Fruiting Period Management in Oyster Mushroom Cultivation

During oyster mushroom cultivation, it is quite common for mushroom beds with mature spawn running to delay fruiting, or for beds that have already produced 1 to 2 flushes to stop fruiting normally. So to avoid these problems, how should spawn running management and fruiting period management be carried out in oyster mushroom cultivation?

1. Spawn Running Management of Oyster Mushrooms

In oyster mushroom cultivation, management during the spawn running stage is very important, as it is the key to the success or failure of cultivation.

1. Temperature: Generally 2—3 days after inoculation, the mycelium begins to recover. The optimum temperature for mycelial growth is 23—27°C. Therefore, temperature management should reach or come as close as possible to this range. In raw material cultivation or open cultivation, other microorganisms in the substrate also produce respiratory heat, so the substrate temperature will be 2-3°C higher than room temperature or even more. Therefore, close attention must be paid to changes in substrate temperature, and corresponding heat dissipation measures should be taken to lower the temperature of the culture room.

2. Humidity: At this stage, the relative air humidity should be kept below 80%. Neither the mushroom house nor the mushroom beds should be sprayed with water; high humidity leads to a high contamination rate.

3. Light: During the mycelial growth stage, light is unfavorable to mycelial growth, and direct sunlight must especially not fall on the mushroom beds. Black curtains should be hung on the windows of the culture room. Except for light used during inspection, the culture room lights should not be turned on arbitrarily.

4. Air: Air is also very important for oyster mushroom mycelial growth. Although the mycelium can tolerate relatively high carbon dioxide concentrations during the growth stage, excessively high carbon dioxide concentrations will also inhibit mycelial growth, and severe oxygen deficiency will cause the mycelium to age and suffocate to death. If the culture room is poorly ventilated, the respiratory heat of the mycelium cannot dissipate, which will cause the substrate temperature to rise and scorch the mycelium.

5. Film covering the beds: 7—10 days after inoculation, the mycelium grows over the surface of the mushroom beds. Before this, it is a dangerous period for contamination by competing microorganisms. In principle, the film should not be uncovered during this stage. Only when the substrate temperature exceeds 30°C and the mycelium would be scorched if the film is not removed should the film be uncovered for ventilation and cooling.

After the mycelium grows over the surface of the mushroom beds, the film should be uncovered for 10—20 minutes each day for aeration. This is because as the amount of mycelium increases, the amounts of respiratory heat and carbon dioxide also increase, so the film needs to be uncovered for aeration.

2. Fruiting Period Management of Oyster Mushrooms

After the mycelium has fully grown, it generally needs another 7 days of post-ripening culture before fruiting period management can begin.

1. After the mycelium has fully grown, the mushroom bags should be stacked in rows, generally 4-7 layers high. When small mushroom buds form at the bag openings, remove the newspaper at the bag openings. In the early stage of small mushroom bud formation, a small amount of mist water can be sprayed into the air of the mushroom shed (house) several times, keeping the ground moist, but water must absolutely not be sprayed on the mushroom buds.

2. Only when the mushroom buds differentiate into caps and stipes may mist water be sprayed, and it is best to spray little, finely, and frequently, while keeping the ground moist. Only when the caps have grown to more than 3 cm may water be sprayed onto the mushroom bodies. During the fruiting period, the relative air humidity of the mushroom shed (house) is best kept at 85-95%.

3. Oyster mushrooms should be harvested promptly when the cap edges have not yet fully expanded. After harvesting one flush, watering should be stopped for 3-7 days to promote mycelial growth and the transition of the mushroom bag to the next flush. When mushroom buds appear on the mushroom bag, appropriate watering should be carried out again to stimulate the formation of a new flush of mushroom bodies.