What are the cultivation methods, storage conditions, and storage and transportation methods for wood ear mushrooms?

Wood ear mushroom is a food we eat quite often; it can be served cold dressed or cooked in all kinds of ways, and it has many benefits for the human body. In China, wood ear mushrooms are mainly cultivated artificially, with a small portion being wild. Artificial cultivation of wood ear mushrooms requires growers to be familiar with every cultivation process, so what are the cultivation methods for wood ear mushrooms? How many storage conditions and storage and transportation methods for wood ear mushrooms are there?

I. Cultivation methods for wood ear mushrooms

1. Spawn production

There are sawdust spawn and twig spawn. The former uses sawdust and wheat bran, etc. to prepare a culture medium; the latter uses twigs with a diameter of 1cm cut into 1.5cm lengths, with sucrose, rice bran, and other nutrients added, then bottled and sterilized under high pressure, inoculated with mother spawn, and cultured at 25-28°C for 1 month, after which the mycelium will fill the bottle.

2. Selection of cultivation site

For the site where black wood ear mushrooms are cultivated, it is best to choose a place below 1000 m in altitude that is sheltered from the wind and faces the sun, with long sunlight hours, relatively little shade, relatively warm, with small day-night temperature differences, high humidity, rich in suitable tree resources, and close to a water source.

After the site is selected, it must be cleared. First remove weeds, dead branches, and fallen leaves completely, dig drainage ditches well, and spread lime and spray dichlorvos, etc. on the ground for sterilization and pest control.

3. Preparation of bed logs

There are many kinds of trees used for cultivating black wood ear mushrooms; any tree species that can be used to cultivate shiitake mushrooms can also be used to cultivate black wood ear mushrooms. The main ones are tree species from the Fagaceae and Betulaceae families, such as sawtooth oak, cork oak, oriental white oak, white oak, Castanopsis carlesii, Quercus fabri, etc.; in addition, Chinese wingnut, sweetgum, elm, pagoda tree, willow, mulberry, sycamore, and banyan are also commonly used tree species in production areas. The felling period is from after the trees enter dormancy to before new buds sprout. Trees aged 8-10 years are suitable. A trunk diameter of 10-14 cm is good. After felling, remove the top, strip the branches, and cut into log sections 1-1.2 m long. Stack the cut log sections in a high, dry, ventilated, sunny place to dry so they ferment as quickly as possible. Turn them about once every 10 days to promote even drying of the log sections. Generally, after 30-40 days of stacking and drying, when the log sections are 70-80% dry, inoculation can be carried out. If the log sections are infected with foreign fungi or pests, they can be smoked and burned with thatch or branches before inoculation until the surface turns black; this can both remove diseases and pests and enhance the bark's heat absorption and water absorption, which is beneficial to the growth of black wood ear mycelium.

4. Inoculation

The inoculation time is generally when the temperature is stable above 15°C, which is favorable for the growth of black wood ear mycelium. The specific time varies with climate conditions in different places; in southern provinces it is about March to April. Properly advancing inoculation helps early mycelial growth and early fruiting body emergence; at the same time, early inoculation at low temperatures can reduce infection by foreign fungi and pests. Before inoculation, first clean the surface of the log sections, then place them in sunlight for 2-3 hours before use. When using wedge-shaped wood block spawn, use an inoculation axe or woodworking chisel to cut inoculation openings at a 45° angle and 2 cm deep on the log sections, then use a small iron hammer to drive the wedge-shaped wood block spawn into the inoculation openings, hammering tightly and flatly.

5. Planting management

After inoculation, in order to maintain relatively high temperature and humidity and sufficient air, so as to promote early mycelial growth and early colonization of the spawn in the bed logs and increase the survival rate, the bed logs must be stacked. The method is to arrange the inoculated bed logs into a “well”-shaped frame, stacked layer by layer into a small pile one meter high, hang dry and wet thermometers inside the pile, cover tightly around with plastic film, control the pile temperature between 22-28°C, maintain relative air humidity at about 80%, and leave 5-6 cm gaps between bed logs to facilitate good ventilation. If the bed logs are dry, spray water appropriately to regulate; after the bark is slightly dry, cover again with plastic film. When the temperature is high, uncover the film once every 3-5 days at noon for ventilation and air exchange, and combine this with spraying water to lower the temperature. Generally after 3-4 weeks of stacking, the black wood ear mycelium has grown into the bed logs, and they can then be spread out and laid in the field.

6. Spreading and laying in the field

Spreading and laying in the field is a continuation of stacking, with the aim of making the mycelium spread deep into the bed logs and rapidly shift from the growth stage to the development stage. The field for laying should be sunny and moist, with appropriate shade. When laying, place the bed logs one by one flat on ground covered with short grass. During this stage, turn the bed logs about once every 10 days and spray water to regulate humidity. After more than one month, when a large number of ear buds appear, they can be put on racks.

II. Storage conditions and storage and transportation methods for wood ear mushrooms

The suitable storage temperature for wood ear mushrooms is 0°C, and a relative humidity above 95% is appropriate. Because it is a gelatinous edible fungus with a soft texture and easily becomes sticky and forms stiff lumps, it needs timely ventilation and air exchange to avoid mold and rot.

Storage and fresh-keeping of wood ear mushrooms is relatively difficult. Even under suitable temperature and humidity conditions, they can only be stored for 2-3 weeks, so they are not suitable for long storage and are only used for short-term fresh-keeping storage and transport as part of turnover transportation. They need to be packaged in baskets, boxes, or plastic bags. If wood ear mushrooms are sun-dried after picking, the storage time can be greatly increased.