Latest Control Methods for Coprinus on Reishi Mushroom Explained in Detail
Coprinus is a common fungus harmful to reishi mushroom (Ganoderma). The cap is initially bullet-shaped or oval, jade white, grayish white or grayish yellow, with most of the surface covered in scaly hairs. After maturity the cap expands, the gills turn from white to black, and finally the cap autolyzes into an inky liquid, which can easily cause devastating disasters to reishi mushroom. Now let us take a look at the control methods for Coprinus on reishi mushroom!
Symptoms of Damage Caused by Coprinus on Reishi Mushroom
Before the Coprinus fruiting bodies appear there are no obvious symptoms. After the fruiting bodies grow out of the substrate surface, many small grayish-black umbrella mushrooms can be seen. They grow extremely fast, appearing at dawn and dying by dusk, covering the entire bed surface. This fungus can be seen occurring in reishi mushroom cultivation with casing soil, competing with reishi mushroom for water and nutrients, causing reduced yield or total crop failure.
Occurrence Patterns of Coprinus on Reishi Mushroom
1. Transmission routes: Coprinus often occurs on horse, cattle and sheep manure and compost, and on poorly fermented material piles. Moldy or damp rice straw, cottonseed hulls and other raw materials also often carry large amounts of Coprinus spores. It is spread by air and by spore-carrying substrate and casing material. Once Coprinus has occurred, it rapidly autolyzes after opening its cap and spreads again with the inky liquid.
2. Occurrence conditions: In terms of nutrition, adding too much nitrogen source to the culture material, or over-fermentation producing acid and releasing excessive ammonia, favors high temperature and high humidity environments. It mostly occurs in hot summer and on moist substrate. An acidic environment very easily induces massive occurrence of Coprinus.
3. Growth characteristics: Coprinus grows fast, appears early and has a short cycle. For example, Coprinus cinereus takes about 7 hours from fruiting body formation to cap opening, about 8 hours from cap opening to autolysis of the fruiting body, and only 24 hours from fruiting body formation to complete autolysis. It produces many spores, has strong reproductive capacity and strikes fiercely. A single Coprinus comatus releases more than 5 billion spores. Once it occurs it easily causes devastating disasters.
Control Methods for Coprinus on Reishi Mushroom
1. Select dry, fresh, mold-free raw materials, and sun-dry them for 2 days before use. When piling and fermenting raw materials, the material temperature needs to reach above 70°C and the pile should be turned in time. The carbon-to-nitrogen ratio and water content of the formula need to be reasonable.
2. Before casing, the soil needs to be sealed and fumigated with a 5% formaldehyde solution.
3. Once Coprinus occurs, it should be pulled out in time before its cap opens and burned or buried deep.