A Detailed Explanation of the Latest Growing Environment Conditions for King Oyster Mushroom

The king oyster mushroom (Pleurotus eryngii) gets its name because it has the fragrance of almonds and a thick, plump flesh with a texture like abalone. It is a rare new edible mushroom variety successfully developed and cultivated in recent years that combines food, medicinal and therapeutic uses, and it has very high prospects for cultivation. Before planting, we need to first understand the growing environment of the king oyster mushroom. Let's take a look together below!

Nutritional Environment

The king oyster mushroom is an edible mushroom with a relatively strong ability to decompose lignin and cellulose. It requires relatively rich nutrition, especially an adequate nitrogen source, for the mycelium to grow vigorously and for yields to be higher. For artificial cultivation, the main substrate materials grow very well on substrates such as cottonseed hulls, sawdust, sugarcane bagasse and wheat straw. Adding auxiliary materials to substitute-material cultivation, such as rice bran, wheat bran, cornmeal, cottonseed cake powder, calcium carbonate and sugar, can promote the growth and spread of the mycelium and increase the number of mushroom primordia produced.

Moisture Environment

The king oyster mushroom is relatively drought-tolerant, but a suitable moisture content is more conducive to growth and development and to increasing yields. During the mycelium growth stage, the suitable moisture content of the culture material is 60%-65%, but because water should not be sprayed on the mushroom bodies during cultivation, and the water needed by the mushroom bodies mainly comes from the culture material, the moisture content of the culture material can be appropriately raised to 65%-70% when it is prepared. For relative air humidity, about 60% is sufficient during the mycelium growth stage, while after primordia appear, during the fruiting body differentiation stage, 90-95% is suitable, and during the fruiting body growth stage it can be appropriately lowered to 85-90%.

Temperature Environment

Temperature is the key to determining the success or failure of king oyster mushroom cultivation and whether yields are high or low. The temperature range for mycelium growth is 22-27°C, with the optimum temperature being about 25°C; above 30°C, the mycelium grows poorly. The king oyster mushroom is a constant-temperature consolidating type of mushroom; too large a temperature difference is unfavorable for the occurrence of primordia. The temperature range for fruiting is 10-18°C, with the optimum temperature being 12-16°C. Below 8°C, primordia will not appear; above 20°C, deformed mushrooms are likely to appear, and diseases may also occur, causing dead mushrooms and rotten mushrooms. The fruiting body growth temperature is 10-21°C, with the optimum temperature being 10-18°C. Temperature control varies with different strains, so when introducing strains, special attention should be paid to understanding the characteristics of the strain.

Air Environment

During the mycelium growth stage, the oxygen requirement is relatively small, and low concentrations of carbon dioxide even have a stimulating effect on mycelium growth. As the mycelium grows, the carbon dioxide concentration in the bag (bottle) gradually rises from the 0.03% content in normal air to more than 2%, and the mycelium can still grow very well. During the primordium stage, sufficient oxygen is needed, and the carbon dioxide concentration should drop to about 0.5%. Otherwise, the primordia will not differentiate and will instead swell into spherical shapes. During the fruiting body growth and development stage, fresh air is needed, and the carbon dioxide concentration should preferably be less than 0.01%.

Light Environment

The mycelium growth stage does not require light; in a dark environment, mycelium growth will be accelerated. The primordium and fruiting body growth and development stages require a certain amount of scattered light, and the suitable light intensity is 500-1000Lx.

pH Environment

The pH range for mycelium growth is 4-8, with the optimum pH being 6.5-7.5. The optimum pH value for the fruiting stage is 5.5-6.5.