Straw Mushroom Spawn Latest Prices and a Detailed Guide to Cultivation Methods
The straw mushroom is also known as the orchid mushroom, the wrapped-foot mushroom, the Chinese mushroom, and other names. It gets its name because it often grows in damp, rotting rice straw. It is the third most cultivated edible mushroom in the world. China began cultivating it artificially 300 years ago, and in about the 1930s it was introduced to countries around the world by overseas Chinese. China's straw mushroom output ranks first in the world. Now let's take a look together at the prices of straw mushroom spawn and its cultivation methods!
The Price of Straw Mushroom Spawn
The price of straw mushroom spawn varies with variety, quality and other factors. For example, a 475-gram bag of straw mushroom spawn, enough to sow 1.5 to 2 sq m, costs about 4 to 5 yuan each. The straw mushroom originated at Nanhua Temple in Shaoguan, Guangdong. It is very nutritious and delicious, plump, thick-fleshed, short-stemmed and smooth, which is why it is also called the orchid mushroom and the delicious wrapped-foot mushroom. It is mostly produced in Guangdong and Guangxi, Fujian, Jiangxi, Taiwan, China and other places.
Cultivation Conditions for Straw Mushrooms
1. Temperature: The straw mushroom is a high-temperature mushroom species, with a growth and development temperature of 10 to 44°C. Different stages of growth and development have different temperature requirements. The germination temperature of basidiospores is 30 to 40°C, the mycelium can grow at temperatures of 10 to 44°C, and the most suitable temperature for fruiting body development is 28 to 32°C.
2. Moisture: The straw mushroom is suited to growing under relatively high humidity conditions. A compost moisture content of about 70% and a relative air humidity of 90 to 95% are suitable. When air humidity is below 80%, the fruiting bodies grow slowly and their surface is rough and lusterless; when it is above 96%, the mushrooms are prone to necrosis and disease.
3. Light: During the vegetative growth stage, the straw mushroom has no strict light requirements and can grow normally under lightless conditions. When it shifts to the reproductive growth stage, light induction is needed to produce fruiting bodies. However, strong light should be avoided; suitable light is 50 to 100 lx. The color of the fruiting bodies is related to the intensity of light.
4. Nutrients: Glucose, fructose, sucrose, peptone, asparagine, glutamine and others are all good carbon and nitrogen sources for the straw mushroom. Rice straw, waste cotton, bagasse and others are the main materials for cultivating straw mushrooms.
5. pH: The straw mushroom requires a pH between 4 and 10.3. The basidiospore germination rate is highest at pH 7.5. For the mycelium and fruiting body stages, pH 4.7 to 6.5 and 8 are suitable.
Straw Mushroom Compost Formulas
1. Waste cotton 69 to 79%, rice straw 10%, wheat bran 5 to 15%, lime 6 to 8%, pH 8 to 9, moisture content 68 to 70%.
2. Waste cotton 100 kg, rice straw powder 12.5 to 25 kg, bran 25 kg, dried cow dung 12.5 kg, superphosphate 2.5 kg, calcium carbonate 2.5 kg, moisture content 65 to 68%.
3. Bagasse 100 kg, bran 15 to 20 kg, lime 3 kg, moisture content 60%.
4. Rice straw 100 kg, rice straw powder 30 kg, dried cow dung 15 kg, gypsum powder 1 kg, moisture content 60 to 65%.
Cultivation Methods for Straw Mushrooms
1. Suitable cultivation period: Sowing straw mushrooms too early is not good for growth because of low temperatures, while sowing too late affects the production of autumn and winter vegetables. After the winter and spring vegetable production ends, clear the plot, disinfect the greenhouse, fumigate with sulfur, and at the same time treat the soil with dichlorvos or trichlorfon.
2. Substrate treatment: The straw mushroom cultivation substrate must be fresh, dry and free of mold. Sun-dry it for 2 to 3 days before use, then thoroughly mix 100 kg of wheat bran with 10 kg of lime and place it in a water tank. Cover the top tightly with plastic film, soak it thoroughly for 24 to 36 hours, then take it out.
3. Cultivation methods
① Making the beds: Straw mushroom cultivation beds run north-south, with a width of 1 m, a length depending on the width of the shed, a bed depth of 8 to 10 cm, and a spacing between beds of 30 to 50 cm. The soil dug from the beds is temporarily placed on the bed ridges.
② Laying the substrate: Spread the soaked compost in the bed in a turtle-back shape, or in a wavy shape. The ridge of substrate is 15 cm thick, and the substrate on both sides is 5 to 8 cm thick, using 15 to 20 kg per sq m.
③ Sowing: Break the prepared spawn into small pieces 1 to 2 cm square and use the hole-sowing method, with holes spaced 8 to 10 cm apart. Sow the spawn evenly into the substrate at a depth of 1 cm, with 10 to 15 g of spawn per hole, then cover the compost with the soil from the bed ridges.
④ Casing soil: Do not use clay or sandy soil for the casing soil, and it must not be too dry or too wet. The casing soil should be 1 cm thicker than the substrate ridge and 3 to 5 cm thick in the substrate furrows. Then use sterilized wooden sticks 2 cm in diameter to make ventilation holes, with holes spaced 10 cm apart, and make the holes deep enough to pierce through the substrate.
4. Cultivation management
① Temperature: 1 to 2 days after sowing, keep the substrate temperature at 35 to 38°C by uncovering the film to cool it down, and keep the air temperature in the shed at about 35°C.
② Humidity: 3 to 4 days after sowing, the mycelium has basically filled out. When the air humidity in the shed is insufficient due to ventilation, spray once with 2% lime water.
③ Ventilation: During the mycelial growth period, ventilate for 15 to 20 minutes at noon every day. During the fruiting body growth period, ventilate 2 to 3 times a day for 20 minutes each time.
④ Light: Straw mushrooms can grow normally under lightless conditions. Cover the shed with straw mats, and scattered light is suitable.
⑤ Pests: The main pests include mites, mushroom flies and click beetles. They can be controlled by spraying with an 800 to 1000 times dilution of 80% dichlorvos emulsifiable concentrate.
5. Timely harvesting: Straw mushrooms are generally best harvested when the pagoda shape with a slightly pointed top has become oval, the mushroom body is plump and smooth, it feels slightly soft when pinched, the color has changed from dark to light, the wrapper membrane has not split, and the cap and stipe have not extended out.