Technical method for cultivating Fuling (Poria cocos) in place on pine stumps
Masson pine (Pinus massoniana) and black pine (Pinus thunbergii) are susceptible to pine wilt disease. After felling in many forest farms, the pine stumps left on the mountain are rationally used to cultivate the medicinal fungus Fuling (Poria cocos), turning waste into treasure. The key techniques for cultivating Fuling are described below:
Fuling parasitizes the roots of Masson pine or black pine, forming a flattened spherical or irregularly spherical shape. Normally, a pine stump with a diameter of 15-20 cm produces 17-20 kg of fresh Fuling in 6 months.
The quality of the spawn is an important factor determining the success or failure of cultivation and the level of yield. Inferior spawn only grows mycelium and does not form Fuling. Because strains are propagated indefinitely, the ability to form sclerotia gradually declines, and the original high-yielding performance is lost. High-quality spawn has stable heredity, strong stress resistance, wide adaptability, and vigorous mycelial growth that is dense, white and thick. After more than 10 years of screening, our institute has selected the high-yielding strain "Fengchan No. 1". It is suitable for continuous-root cultivation on pine stumps and for log cultivation; its sclerotia concentrate within a 1 m range, it is drought-resistant, and it yields high. In stump and log cultivation, the yield reaches as high as 40 kg, with the largest single Fuling weighing up to 30 kg.
1. Site and stump selection. Choose plots with a slope of 10-30 degrees, facing the sun and sheltered from the wind, with loose soil and good drainage and aeration. Fuling can also be planted in clay, black soil and loess with poor aeration, but the yield differs slightly. Pine stumps felled in the previous autumn, winter or the current spring can be selected; those with a diameter of 12 cm or more, not rotten or insect-damaged, and with bark not fallen off can all be used for cultivating Fuling.
2. Digging holes and cleaning stumps. The quality of digging holes and cleaning stumps directly affects the level of Fuling yield. To grow Fuling well, the material must be dry, the site must be dry, and the spawn quality must be good. Cleaning stumps is generally done from around the Spring Festival to after Qingming, and should be finished by the end of May at the latest. Weeds, shrubs and stones within 1 m must be cleared, and a hole 1 m in diameter and 40 cm deep must be dug. The soil around the lateral roots should be dug away to fully expose the lateral roots to space. The dug-out soil is placed beside the hole to weather and dry in the sun, and is backfilled after inoculation.
3. Inoculation and earthing up. The best season for inoculation is April to July, and it must not be later than August. Inoculating too early means low temperatures, slow mycelial growth and easy contamination, which affects the success rate; inoculating too late affects the yield. Choose sunny weather, select thick pine roots and cut ""-shaped notches with a knife; do not cut off small fine roots. Fill the cut notches fully with spawn to prevent the spawn from detaching from the stump (which causes false connection and failure to transmit the fungus). Cover with straw paper, sprinkle termite powder on the edges of the straw paper, cover with soil promptly, and bury the root wood dug out when hollowing into the hole at the same time. When covering with soil, remove debris and stones, and mound the stump into a turtle-back shape.
The inoculation amount should be appropriate; too much inoculation affects the yield, while too little makes it difficult for the mycelium to spread quickly, also affecting the yield. Generally, for a stump 20 cm in diameter, use 1 bag of spawn weighing 350 g; for a diameter of 25-35 cm, use 2 bags; for a diameter of 35-45 cm, use 3 bags; for large stumps, inoculate at 3-5 points.
4. Management after inoculation. Ten days after inoculation, gently scrape away the surface soil to expose the spawn. If the mycelium is white and has begun to spread toward the pine roots, it means the spawn has survived, and the soil should be covered back well. If the spawn has died or is contaminated by foreign fungi, new notches can be cut and inoculation repeated. If the mycelium is thin and weak, it is because the soil covering the pine stump is too moist; the spawn can be shaded, the covering soil scraped away and sunned for 2-3 sunny days, then covered with soil again to promote vigorous mycelial growth.
About 50 days after inoculation on the pine stump, the mycelium has spread over the entire stump and has twisted together to form sclerotia. After growing for a certain time, the sclerotia will emerge from the ground as mounds, and soil should be earthed up promptly in small amounts and multiple times, with a thickness such that the sclerotia are not exposed. Drainage ditches should be opened well around the pine stump, and water should be drained promptly after rain. If the pine stump is exposed, soil should be earthed up promptly, and the Fuling site should be protected from livestock trampling.
5. Harvesting. After about 10 months of growth following planting, when cracks no longer appear in the Fuling site and the Fuling sclerotia have hardened with a yellowish-brown surface, they can be harvested successively. During harvesting, prevent breaking the Fuling, so as not to affect the grade of the processed product. Large pine stumps should not be dug up on rainy days. After digging, cover with soil again, and harvesting can continue for 2-3 years.