How to manage Ganoderma lucidum after fruiting? Latest management techniques and methods tutorial

Cultivation methods of Ganoderma lucidum

1. Three-dimensional cultivation: In the mushroom shed, open (cut) the bag mouths of small mushroom bags that fruit at both ends, and stack them along the wall, generally up to 6-8 layers high; or set up shelf layers in the shed, place large-sized mushroom bags (or pots) in a single layer on the shelf layers, uncover the adhesive tape at the inoculation holes, and let Ganoderma lucidum grow upward. The Ganoderma lucidum produced by this method is very popular in the market because of its natural and clean characteristics, but due to limitations such as moisture in the substrate, the yield is slightly lower.

2. Soil-covered bed cultivation: This method generally involves building a simple shed under tree shade or constructing small and medium-sized arched sheds on ordinary farmland as the cultivation site. There are also two specific cultivation operations. One is to remove the plastic film from the mushroom bags and place them into beds covered with soil. Although this method has the advantages of providing sufficient moisture for Ganoderma lucidum, making the fruiting bodies plump and yielding higher output, due to the high baseline of pests and diseases outdoors and the large number of microorganisms in the soil-covering material, it is very likely to cause harmful microorganisms to infect the mycelium, and it is susceptible to damage from pests and diseases. In addition, the fruiting bodies are often not clean due to contamination by mud, sand, and other debris. The other is to remove the plastic film from the bottom about 1/2 height of the mushroom bag, or cut the mushroom bag in the middle, stand it in the bed, fill the gaps with soil, and retain about 1 cm of the upper mushroom bag. With this method, the mycelium can receive moisture from the soil layer in the bed, and the fruiting body does not directly contact the covering soil. Its production effect is relatively good and it has high practical value.

Management after fruiting

1. Temperature management: The optimum temperature required for the fruiting site (mushroom shed) is 26-28°C. Under special climate conditions, it can briefly tolerate low temperatures of 20°C and high temperatures of 35°C, but this should not last too long. If the 20°C condition is maintained for 7 days, the mycelium can turn yellow, shrink, and become fibrous, after which it is very difficult to fruit, and even if primordia barely appear, they will grow poorly, producing thin, small fruiting bodies with low commercial value and low yield. If it exceeds 30°C, or even reaches 35°C, the fruiting bodies will be thin and small, the caps will be relatively thin, and they will age prematurely. Therefore, various measures should be taken to regulate the temperature to an appropriate level and keep it relatively stable.

2. Moisture management: After the mushroom bags are placed in the shed and the bag mouths are opened, the relative air humidity should reach and maintain a high humidity level of 95% to promote primordium formation, and it may even be maintained at saturated air humidity for a short time. When finger-like protrusions appear, the humidity should be maintained at 95%. Note that the air humidity at this stage should be strictly maintained. If it is lower than 80%, primordia are not easy to form, or the mushroom buds stop growing; in severe cases, after mycelial fibrosis occurs, primordia cannot form. When the finger-like protrusions gradually differentiate into the rudimentary form of the cap, the humidity condition can be appropriately relaxed to 85%-95%, and occasionally saturated humidity is also acceptable, but it should not exceed 4 hours. When the cap is more than 3 cm at its largest and the yellow growth zone at the edge is clear and obvious, that is, the middle growth stage, the humidity can be 80%-100%. For example, spray water at least 3-5 times a day. About 1 hour after spraying, the humidity reaches saturation, and then gradually decreases. Generally, with the natural evaporation of moisture contained in the ground and walls in the mushroom shed, plus daily spraying, the humidity will not drop very quickly. It takes about 4-6 hours to drop from 100% to 80%. Repeating the above management cycle generally meets the needs of fruiting body growth. During soil-covered cultivation, the number of water sprays can be reduced accordingly, specifically depending on the humidity at that time and its retention conditions.

3. Aeration management: Ganoderma lucidum is an aerobic fungus. From the primordium process until the cap differentiation stage, the oxygen demand is relatively large, which requires maintaining corresponding ventilation conditions, preferably to the standard that after a person enters the shed, the air feels fresh and there is no plastic-like odor. When the cap grows to more than 3 cm, the ventilation volume should be appropriately controlled, with the intention of appropriately increasing the carbon dioxide concentration in the shed, so as to promote the cap to slightly reduce its lateral growth rate and shift to thickness development. However, increasing the carbon dioxide content is not the main reason for thickening the cap; that is only an auxiliary measure. The thickness of the cap mainly depends on factors such as substrate nutrition and moisture. The specific carbon dioxide concentrations required at each growth stage are: 0.3%-0.5% before cap differentiation, and 0.08%-0.1% thereafter. It is not allowed to exceed 0.1%, otherwise it will inhibit the normal development of the fruiting body.

4. Light management: The light requirement of Ganoderma lucidum is scattered light, and its intensity increases with the age of the fungus. However, before primordium formation, relatively strong light should be used to stimulate Ganoderma lucidum to promote primordium formation. When finger-like protrusions appear, 100-200 lux of light should be maintained. When conditions permit, measures such as artificial lighting at night can be taken to promote rapid cap differentiation; but after the cap is formed, maintaining a normal light intensity of about 300 lux is sufficient. Thereafter, as the fungus ages, regulation should be carried out according to the situation. During light management, attention should be paid to the appropriateness of light, because when the light is relatively strong, the fruiting body is robust, the color deepens, and spores are ejected slightly earlier and in larger amounts; when the light is relatively weak, the cap is relatively lighter in color, but the growth period is slightly longer and the fruiting body is slightly larger.

5. Inter-flush management: If the temperature conditions are suitable and there is relatively ample time for another fruiting, the fruiting surface can be cleaned up. For mushroom bags in three-dimensional cultivation, water should be fully replenished. Generally, methods such as soaking can be used. If conditions permit, a water replenisher can be used for the operation. The water replenishment amount should be large and efficient, and only after water replenishment can the mushroom bags recover to their weight before fruiting. For soil-covered bed cultivation, the covering soil can be leveled and appropriately watered, then covered with film, spraying stopped, and light blocked for mycelium cultivation. After about 7-10 days, management can be restarted, and a second flush of Ganoderma lucidum can be harvested.