The Latest Cultivation Techniques and Methods Tutorial for Wine Cap Mushroom

The wine cap mushroom, also known as the wrinkled globe stropharia, wrinkled stropharia, wine-red stropharia, etc., is a fungus of the family Strophariaceae and the genus Stropharia. It is not only one of the top ten mushrooms on the international mushroom trading market, but also one of the mushroom species recommended by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations for cultivation in developing countries. It has very broad development prospects. Let us take a look at the cultivation techniques for the wine cap mushroom!

Cultivation Prospects of the Wine Cap Mushroom

1. The cultivation techniques for the wine cap mushroom are simple and extensive. It can be cultivated directly with raw materials and has a strong ability to resist contamination, making it easy to achieve success.

2. The wine cap mushroom has abundant sources of cultivation materials and can grow on various straw substrates (such as rice straw, wheat straw, etc.). In the vast rural areas of China, it can serve as a major measure for handling straw. The spent material after cultivation can be returned directly to the field to improve the soil and increase fertility.

3. The wine cap mushroom has strong stress resistance and a wide temperature range for adaptation. It can fruit within the range of 4 to 30°C, and in provinces such as Fujian and Guangdong it can overwinter naturally. Because the suitable cultivation season is long, it is helpful for adjusting to go on the market during the off-season of other mushrooms or vegetables.

4. Because of its high yield, low production cost, and rich nutrition, the wine cap mushroom, as a new product, is easily accepted by a broad range of consumers once it is put on the market.

Cultivation Conditions of the Wine Cap Mushroom

1. Temperature: The mycelial growth temperature of the wine cap mushroom is 5 to 34°C, with the optimum being 25 to 12°C. Below 12°C, the mycelium grows slowly; above 35°C, the mycelium stops growing and is prone to aging and death. The temperature for primordium formation and fruiting body development is 4 to 30°C, with the optimum temperature being 14 to 25°C. Below 4°C and above 30°C, it is difficult for the fruiting body to form and grow.

2. Moisture: The moisture content required for the mycelial growth medium of the wine cap mushroom is about 65 to 70%. For primordium differentiation, the air humidity is 90 to 95%. For fruiting body growth and development, the substrate moisture content is 70%, and the air humidity for primordium differentiation is between 90 and 95%.

3. Ventilation: The mycelium of the wine cap mushroom does not have high oxygen requirements during growth, and the carbon dioxide concentration must not exceed 2%. Fruiting body growth and development require sufficient oxygen. Excessively high carbon dioxide tends to form deformed mushrooms. During the fruiting period, ventilation should be carried out for 2 to 3 hours daily.

4. Light: The mycelial growth stage of the wine cap mushroom requires no light. Fruiting body growth requires 100 to 500 lx of light. Diffused sunlight can promote robust fruiting bodies and improve quality.

5. pH: The wine cap mushroom is suitable for growing in a weakly acidic environment. The mycelium can grow in both culture medium and soil at pH 4 to 9, but pH 5 to 6.5 is appropriate. For the mycelial growth medium, pH 5.5 to 6.5 is appropriate. For the culture material during fruiting body growth, pH 5 to 6 is appropriate. For the casing soil material, pH 5.5 to 6 is appropriate.

Preparation for Cultivating the Wine Cap Mushroom

1. Cultivation materials: The wine cap mushroom can use crop straw as a raw material. With a culture material that does not contain any organic fertilizer, the mycelium of the wine cap mushroom can grow normally and produce mushrooms. If nitrogen fertilizer, phosphorus fertilizer, or potassium fertilizer is added to the straw, the mycelial growth of the wine cap mushroom is instead very poor. The effect of cultivating the wine cap mushroom with sawdust, barnyard manure, leaves, and dry grass is also not ideal. Large-scale cultivation of the wine cap mushroom requires a large amount of material, so it should be collected in advance and stored for later use. Crop straw can be rice straw, wheat straw, barley straw, rye straw, flax straw, etc.

2. Cultivation methods: The wine cap mushroom can be cultivated in mushroom houses by ground-bed cultivation, box cultivation, and shelf cultivation, and is not suitable for intensive indoor cultivation. Germany, Poland, and the United States mainly use outdoor (garden, orchard) raised beds for extensive bare-ground or protected cultivation. In China, outdoor raw-material cultivation is also mostly used, because it requires no special equipment, is simple to make, and is easy to manage, with low cultivation cost and good economic benefits.

3. Cultivation season: In North China, if plastic greenhouses are used for protection, production can be arranged almost year-round except during the brief severe winter and intense summer heat. In warmer regions, winter fallow fields can be used and cultivated with protective sheds. The sowing period should preferably be arranged from mid-to-late November to early December, so that the peak fruiting period falls around the Spring Festival, or the sowing period can be adjusted according to market demand so that the peak fruiting period falls in the vegetable off-season or the season when the market supply of other mushrooms is low.

4. Cultivation site: Outdoor cultivation is the main method for cultivating the wine cap mushroom. Warm, wind-sheltered, and shaded places can provide a microclimate suitable for the growth of the wine cap mushroom. Semi-shaded places are more suitable for the growth of the wine cap mushroom, but continuous shading (such as the shade under large trees) will seriously hinder the growth and development of the wine cap mushroom.

Cultivation Techniques for the Wine Cap Mushroom

1. Land preparation and bed making: First, open drainage ditches around the cultivation site, mainly to prevent water accumulation after rain. The specific method of land preparation and bed making is to first take part of the surface loam and pile it nearby for later use as casing soil, then shape the land into ridges, slightly higher in the middle and slightly lower on both sides. The bed height is 10 to 15 cm, the width is 90 cm, the length is 150 cm, and the distance between beds is 40 cm. In order not to affect tree growth, the soil may not be turned, and the mushroom bed can be built between two trees or slightly closer to one side of the bed to facilitate orchard management.

2. Site disinfection: After land preparation and bed making are completed and before piling has begun, the site should be disinfected. A 1% tea seed cake solution can be sprinkled on the beds to prevent earthworm damage, and dichlorvos can be sprayed on and around the beds. If a mountainous area is chosen as the mushroom site, termite control agents such as mieyiling and termite powder must be applied to eliminate termites.

3. Material treatment: The culture material should be obtained locally according to different regions and is required to be fresh, dry, and not moldy. The following formulas can be used: 1) 100% dry pure rice straw. 2) 100% dry pure wheat straw. 3) 50% soybean straw, 50% corn straw. 4) 80% dry rice straw, 20% dry sawdust. 5) 40% dry rice straw, 40% rice husk, 20% miscellaneous wood sawdust.

4. Straw soaking and pre-piling: Before piling, the rice straw must first absorb enough water. Introduce clean water into a ditch or pool, put the rice straw directly into the ditch or pool to soak, and tread on the straw while soaking it. The soaking time is generally about 2 days, and the soaking time for different varieties of rice straw differs slightly. Pre-fermentation: when the daytime temperature is above 23°C, in order to prevent the straw pile from fermenting after piling and the temperature from rising and affecting mycelial growth, pre-fermentation is needed.?

5. Building the mushroom bed: The most important thing in building the mushroom bed is to press the straw flat and firm. The thickness of the straw material is 20 cm, and the maximum thickness must not exceed 30 cm, nor should it be less than 20 cm. Use 20 to 30 kg of dry grass per square meter, and 600 to 700 g of spawn. When piling the straw, the first layer of straw placed should be about 10 cm from the edge of the bed. Generally, 3 layers are piled, each about 8 cm thick, and the spawn is broken into pieces the size of pigeon eggs and sown between two layers of straw. The depth of the sowing holes is 5 to 8 cm, using plum-blossom point sowing, with a hole spacing of 10 to 12 cm. Increasing the number of sowing holes can make the mycelium grow faster.

6. Covering: After piling and sowing are completed, add a covering on the surface of the straw pile. The covering can be old burlap bags, non-woven fabric, straw curtains, old newspapers, etc. Old burlap pieces have the best effect because of their strong moisture retention and ease of handling. Generally, a single layer is sufficient. For large-scale cultivation, straw curtain covering is also acceptable. The covering on the straw pile should be kept moist at all times to prevent the straw pile from drying out. Soak the burlap pieces thoroughly in clean water, take them out and drain off excess water, then cover the straw pile.