Identification and Prevention of Common Pests and Diseases of Morel Mushrooms

Common pests and diseases of morel mushrooms and their prevention methods

Mollusks:Including snails and slugs, which mostly livein dark, damp grass, among fallen leaves, or under stones, hiding by day and emerging at night,chewing on morel ascocarps, causing serious damage. The prevention and control of such pestscan be carried out through manual capture and removal. For slugs, prevention and control can alsobe done with chemical agents: bean cake or roasted fragrant cottonseed cake with trichlorfonmixed at a ratio of 10:1 to make poison bait, applied at 4-5 kg per mu,scattered in the evening to trap and kill them.

Termites:Mostly occur during the sowing stage, with termites directly gnawing onspawn, causing serious losses. Termite damage mostly occurs in woodland and undisturbed soil fieldsrich in humus and fallen leaves, and can be prevented and controlled by sun-exposingthe field before sowing. In addition, for newly reclaimed fields, before sowing,applying 50-75 kg of quicklime per mu can effectively reducetermite infestation. When termite damage is found, use 48% chlorpyrifosemulsifiable concentrate at 1,000-1,500 times dilution for spray control.

Rats:Rats gnaw on spawn and young mushrooms, and can be prevented and controlled through conventionalrat trapping or deratization methods.

Springtails:In morel cultivation and production, especially when the soilcontains sugar-rich waste such as corn stalks or when the soil agricultural waste is relatively fertile,springtail outbreaks are very likely. Springtails move within soil crevices,chewing on morel hyphae; they also burrow into exogenous nutrient bags, breedinginside the bags, causing hyphal damage and nutrient loss. In warm,humid spring seasons, large numbers of springtails will also chew on ascocarps, and the partsof ascocarps that have been bitten develop poorly, making them prone to ⟧31⟧other diseases.the occurrence of damage.Prevention and control methods:1. About one month before sowing,plow the field and apply quicklime at 50-75 kgper mu; after plowing, sun-expose the field, which can effectively reducespringtail damage; 2. Remove agricultural waste from the field, especiallycorn stalks and other sugar-rich debris, to reduce breeding nutrient sources;3. Rotate operations; flooding paddy fields can also effectively killspringtails and their eggs; 4. In fields with severe springtail problems, based on thespringtail's water-loving habit, place small basins of clean water where springtails occur; afterspringtails jump into the water, change the water and continue using water to trap and kill them; after several rounds,the pest population density will be greatly reduced.

Mites:Mites are very small, only 1-2 mm in size,but enormous in number. They mainly damage mycelium and also bite fruiting bodies. Whenmites occur in large numbers, acaricides can be used to treat the bed surface.

Weed damage:In fields where weeds, moss and other plants occur in large quantities,morel yields are generally not very high. After sowing, black or whiteplastic film can be used to cover the bed surface, which can effectively control weed occurrence. At the same time,appropriate ventilation can be applied to reduce soil moisture.

Fungal diseases:During the season when morel ascocarps form, ifhigh-temperature and high-humidity weather occurs, mold diseases easily break out. If improperly prevented and controlled,they will cause large-scale outbreaks with serious losses.Disease characteristics:The ascocarpsurface becomes moldy, with vigorous white aerial hyphae, causing the mushroom body to rot,die or become deformed, seriously affecting quality. Research shows that morelascocarps contain a large number of endophytic fungi, including Fusarium.When the environment is suitable, these endophytic fungi are very likely to break out and causedamage. In addition, there are currently no research reports on morel fungal infections ordiseases, nor are there definite control methods; prevention and controlare the main approach: First, sun-exposing the field for more than 1 week before sowing can effectivelyprevent and control the occurrence of mold diseases; Second, avoid prolongedhigh temperature and high humidity during the fruiting season, and strengthen ventilation, dehumidification and cooling to prevent and control diseaseoccurrence; Third, during the sowing and supplementing stages, if high temperature occurs, the mushroom bed will havevarying degrees of mold, and quicklime can be sprayed on the spot and buried;Fourth, for Fusarium, use prochloraz or copper sulfate for prevention and control.

Bacterial diseases:Bacterial diseases mostly occur during the fruiting stage,and like fungal diseases, often break out along with high-temperature and high-humidity weather, manifestingas the stipe turning red, rotting and emitting a foul odor.