The Latest Cultivation Techniques and Methods Tutorial for Enoki Mushroom

Enoki mushroom not only has a smooth cap, crisp stem and fresh taste, but is also very rich in nutrients. According to an analysis by the Shanghai Food Industry Research Institute, 100 grams of dried mushrooms contain 13.9-16.2 grams of protein, 1.7-1.8 grams of fat, 60.2-62.2 grams of carbohydrates, 320-322 kilocalories of calories, 6.3-7.4 grams of crude fiber, 3.6-3.9 grams of ash, 61.76 milligrams of calcium, 280-343 milligrams of phosphorus, 0.16 milligrams of thiamine, 159 milligrams of riboflavin, and 23.4 milligrams of niacin. In 100 grams of fresh mushrooms there are 2.72 grams of protein, 0.13 grams of fat, 5.45 grams of carbohydrates, 1.77 grams of crude fiber, 0.83 grams of ash, 0.022 milligrams of iron, 0.097 milligrams of calcium, 1.48 milligrams of phosphorus, 0.20 milligrams of sodium, 0.31 milligrams of magnesium, 3.7 milligrams of potassium, 0.29 milligrams of thiamine, 0.21 milligrams of riboflavin, and 2.27 milligrams of ascorbic acid. It contains eighteen kinds of amino acids, of which the eight essential amino acids for the human body account for 44.5% of the total amino acids, higher than that of ordinary mushrooms, and it is especially rich in lysine and arginine, reaching 1.024 grams and 1.231 grams respectively. Lysine and arginine can promote memory and develop intelligence, making this a necessary food for children's health care and intellectual development.

Growth Conditions of Enoki Mushroom

The growth of enoki mushroom requires certain conditions, the main ones being nutrients, moisture, temperature, light, air and pH.

1. Nutritional conditions

Enoki mushroom is a saprophytic fungus and cannot carry out photosynthesis. The nutrients needed for its life activities can only be obtained by the mycelium from the saprophytic substrate.

① Carbon source: Enoki mushroom can use various monosaccharides, disaccharides, polysaccharides and non-sugar compounds such as ethanol as carbon sources. Enoki mushroom can use the cellulose and lignin in wood as carbon sources. However, its ability to decompose wood is weak, so if miscellaneous wood sawdust is used as the cultivation material, sawdust that has been piled and fermented and aged is better. There are many materials that can provide for the growth needs of enoki mushroom. Besides sawdust, agricultural and forestry waste resources such as cottonseed hulls are all very good cultivation raw materials.

② Nitrogen source: The nitrogen requirement of enoki mushroom is higher than that of shiitake mushroom, and the nitrogen nutrition in the culture substrate has a great influence on the mycelial growth and fruiting body development of enoki mushroom.

③ Inorganic salts: The growth of enoki mushroom requires a certain amount of inorganic salts, such as monopotassium phosphate, calcium sulfate, ferric sulfate, magnesium sulfate, etc. From these inorganic salts, enoki mushroom obtains elements such as phosphorus, potassium, calcium, iron and magnesium, among which phosphorus, potassium and magnesium are the three more important elements.

2. Moisture

Like other mushrooms, all physiological activities of enoki mushroom, including the absorption and transport of nutrients, the proliferation of mycelium, and the occurrence and growth of fruiting bodies, must be carried out under certain moisture conditions. If the moisture content of the culture material is too low or too high, it will affect the growth of enoki mushroom. Enoki mushroom is a moisture-loving mushroom with strong drought tolerance. The mycelium grows and develops well in a culture medium with a water content of 60-65%. In the early stage of mycelial growth, the humidity of the cultivation room should be controlled at about 70%; when the humidity of the cultivation room is too high, it is easy to cause contamination by miscellaneous bacteria. The relative air humidity during fruiting body growth should be controlled between 85-95%.

3. Temperature

Temperature is an important factor affecting the growth of enoki mushroom, and it plays a very important role in the mycelial growth, fruiting body formation, development and quality of enoki mushroom. The temperature requirements for mycelial growth and fruiting body growth are different. Enoki mushroom mycelium can grow within the range of 4-32°C. It stops growing below 3°C and above 34°C. When the temperature is above 8°C, the growth rate gradually accelerates. 22-26°C is the optimum range for mycelial growth. The optimum temperature for fruiting body growth is 12-15°C. Under the conditions of 10°C and 15°C, fruiting body formation takes only 13 days.

4. Light

Enoki mushroom has different light requirements at different growth stages. During the mycelial growth stage, no light is needed; under completely dark conditions, the mycelium grows normally. Fruiting body growth has obvious phototropism; under completely dark conditions, only the mushroom stem grows and no cap grows. In cultivation practice, this characteristic can be used to control the length of enoki mushroom. Light has a relatively large influence on the quality of enoki mushroom. Under bright conditions, the color of the mushroom is dark, appearing brown, and there is more fuzz at the base of the stem; under dark conditions, the color of the mushroom is lighter, the cap and stem are milky white or light yellow, and the cap is small while the stem is long. In production, this characteristic can be used to control the color of the mushroom and produce enoki mushroom with higher economic value.

5. Air

Enoki mushroom is an aerobic fungus. The growth and development of fruiting bodies requires fresh air. The expansion of the cap is very sensitive to the carbon dioxide concentration in the air. When the carbon dioxide content in the air exceeds 1%, it will inhibit the development of the cap; when the carbon dioxide concentration is 0.06-4.9%, the diameter of the cap becomes smaller as the carbon dioxide concentration increases.

6. pH

Enoki mushroom mycelium can grow within the pH range of 3-8.4. The optimum pH range for mycelial growth is 4-7, among which the mycelium grows fastest at pH 6. The pH suitable for fruiting body growth is 4.5-7, and the optimum pH is 5.

Main Equipment for Cultivation

The main equipment needed for enoki mushroom cultivation includes a normal-pressure sterilization stove, inoculation box, inoculation room, spawn culture rack and cultivation rack, and culture room, etc. Among these, the sterilization stove, inoculation box and inoculation room are the same as those for common edible mushroom cultivation, so they will not be described in detail here. The following focuses on the spawn culture rack, cultivation rack and culture room, which are what make enoki mushroom production different from the cultivation of other edible mushrooms.

1. Spawn culture rack and cultivation rack

The culture rack used for the mycelial propagation of enoki mushroom is the same as other spawn racks; it only needs to be able to hold spawn bottles and cultivation bags. The cultivation rack for fruiting body growth should be slightly higher. Generally, one can build a rack 2 meters long, 1 meter wide and 2.1 meters high, divided into 5-6 layers, with each layer 45 cm high. The best material for making the rack is steel for the support frame, but bamboo strips and wooden strips can also be used. However, racks made of bamboo and wood materials should be painted with white paint. A painted cultivation rack not only has fewer miscellaneous bacteria, but also has a longer service life. Cultivation beds can also be built for cultivation. The cultivation bed is 120-130 cm wide, about 45 cm high, with 5-6 layers, and the length is determined according to the length of the cultivation room.

2. Culture room

According to the characteristics that enoki mushroom has different requirements for temperature, humidity, etc. at different growth stages, two kinds of culture rooms should be built: one is the culture room for mycelial growth, and the other is the culture room for fruiting body growth, also called the cultivation room. Where conditions permit, the fruiting body culture room is divided into a primordium-inducing room and a growth room.

① Mycelial culture room: It is required to provide conditions suitable for the mycelial growth of enoki mushroom. That is, the temperature should be maintained at 20-23°C and the relative humidity at 70%. If specialized production is carried out, it is better to use a double wall when building the culture room, filling the space between the walls with heat-insulating materials such as rice husks, sawdust or foam plastic boards. After the culture room is sealed and insulated, the CO2 released by mycelial respiration tends to accumulate excessively, so exhaust windows should be built.

② Primordium-inducing room: It is required to have conditions such as a temperature of 13-14°C, humidity of 80-90%, and darkness. To meet these requirements, air-conditioning equipment and humidifying equipment are needed, and air intake and exhaust holes should be set up. The air intake holes are set at the base of the wall, one every one meter, while the exhaust holes are set above the wall, one every two meters.

③ Cultivation room: Some also divide the growth room further into a suppression room and a growth room. The cultivation room should have temperature conditions that make enoki mushroom grow neatly, firmly, round and in neat bundles. To make enoki mushroom fruiting bodies grow at 10°C, cultivation rooms for year-round production all need air-conditioning equipment to regulate the temperature.

Preparation of Culture Material

Based on the nutrients required for the growth of enoki mushroom, the compound culture medium formulas used are as follows:

1. Sawdust 40%, wheat straw powder 28%, bran 20%, gypsum 1%, sugar 1%.

2. Wild grass powder 28%, sawdust 40%, bran 20%, gypsum 1%, sugar 1%.