What are the growing environment requirements for oyster mushrooms? Latest detailed guide
The oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus), also called the frost mushroom, is one of the common edible fungi. Generally, edible fungi have cultivation methods that differ from other vegetables, and they all need humans to provide a special environment in order to survive. Therefore, the environment for cultivating oyster mushrooms needs to meet their own requirements, and in terms of moisture, light, temperature, humidity, nutrition and other aspects, it must match the growing environment of oyster mushrooms and be the most favorable for their growth.
1. Temperature
Oyster mushrooms are mostly cultivated in facility environments such as greenhouses and polytunnels, so regulating indoor temperature and humidity is very important, because they cannot really rely on the outside environment to regulate themselves. Most mycelium can grow at 5 to 35 degrees, but the optimum temperature is 20 to 30 degrees. For example, the optimum growth temperature for the mycelium of Pleurotus cornucopiae is 24 to 27 degrees, and the fruiting bodies grow at 13 to 18 degrees.
2. Humidity
Oyster mushrooms like moisture. Sometimes farmers place them beside a water vat to let them grow. For mycelial growth, the substrate of cottonseed hulls needs 55% to 60% humidity, while wheat straw types need 70% humidity; at 50% it will not occur, and even if the environmental humidity is higher, it still will not occur. Fruiting body growth requires relatively high environmental humidity, generally around 80% to 85%. They grow well at humidity between 70% and 95%; if it is too low, mushrooms do not form, and if it is too high, growth is slow.
3. Nutrition
Once temperature and humidity are handled well, the next most important thing is meeting nutritional needs. With nutrition, there is growth. Oyster mushrooms growing naturally will break down the wood they parasitize to obtain nutrients. However, artificial cultivation relies on a substrate, and the substrate can be a mix of multiple materials. If the raw material is single, the nutritional content is insufficient. Usable materials include cottonseed hulls, corn cobs, rice straw, wheat straw and the like. The main requirement is to meet carbon and nitrogen needs. When these are insufficient, they can be supplemented artificially, for example by adding urea, lime or cake fertilizer.
4. Light
The environment needed for mycelial growth is relatively dark; dim light suits mycelial growth. Apart from red, orange, yellow and green light, light is harmful to mycelial growth. Fruiting body development needs sufficient light, so it should leave the dark environment behind. Broadly speaking, natural outdoor light is best. If it is too dark, deformed mushrooms with long stipes and small caps and pale color are likely to appear; with good light, the mushrooms grow normally.
5. Other
Mycelium needs a certain amount of carbon dioxide to grow well, but fruiting body growth needs sufficient oxygen and does not really need carbon dioxide. Substances in the air such as carbon monoxide, sulfides and acetylene will harm the mushrooms. Mycelium can grow at a pH between 3.5 and 9.0, but the best is pH 5.4 to 7.5.
The environment required for growing oyster mushrooms has its own demands in all the aspects above. During cultivation, we should try our best to create these suitable growing conditions for the mushrooms. In this way, the growth of oyster mushrooms will be relatively good, quality will improve, and yield will also increase, which is naturally better.