What are the requirements for the growing environment of the king oyster mushroom?
The king oyster mushroom gets its name from its almond-like aroma and its thick flesh, which has a texture like that of abalone. It is a rare new edible mushroom variety successfully developed and cultivated in recent years that combines food, medicinal and therapeutic uses, and it has very high prospects for cultivation. Before planting, we need to first understand the growing environment of the king oyster mushroom. Let's take a look together below!
Nutritional environment
The king oyster mushroom is an edible mushroom with a relatively strong ability to decompose lignin and cellulose, and it needs fairly abundant nutrients, especially sufficient nitrogen sources, for vigorous mycelial growth and higher yields. For artificial cultivation, the main substrate grows very well on materials such as cottonseed hulls, sawdust, sugarcane bagasse and wheat straw. Adding supplementary materials to substitute-compound cultivation, such as rice bran, wheat bran, cornmeal, cottonseed cake powder, calcium carbonate and sugar, can promote the spread of mycelial growth and increase the number of mushroom buds produced.
Moisture environment
The king oyster mushroom is relatively drought-tolerant, but suitable water content is more conducive to growth and development and increases yield. During the mycelial growth stage, the suitable water content of the culture substrate is 60%-65%, but since water should not be sprayed on the fruiting bodies during cultivation, and the water needed by the fruiting bodies mainly comes from the culture substrate, the water content of the culture substrate can be appropriately raised to 65%-70% when it is prepared. For relative air humidity, about 60% is sufficient during the mycelial growth stage, while 90-95% is suitable during the primordium formation and fruiting body differentiation stage, and it can be appropriately lowered to 85-90% during the fruiting body growth stage.
Temperature environment
Temperature is the key to determining the success or failure of king oyster mushroom cultivation and whether yields are high or low. The temperature range for mycelial growth is 22-27°C, and the optimum temperature is about 25°C; above 30°C, mycelial growth is poor. The king oyster mushroom is a constant-temperature, stable-fruiting mushroom type. Too large a temperature difference is unfavorable for primordium formation. The temperature range for fruiting is 10-18°C, and the optimum temperature is 12-16°C. Below 8°C, primordia will not appear, and above 20°C, deformed mushrooms easily appear, and diseases may also occur, causing dead and rotten mushrooms. The fruiting body growth temperature is 10-21°C, and the optimum temperature is 10-18°C. Temperature control varies with different strains, so when introducing strains, special attention must be paid to understanding the characteristics of the strain.
Air environment
The oxygen requirement during the mycelial growth stage is relatively low, and low concentrations of carbon dioxide even have a stimulating effect on mycelial growth. As the mycelium grows, the carbon dioxide concentration in the bag (bottle) gradually rises from the 0.03% found in normal air to more than 2%, and the mycelium can still grow very well. During the primordium formation period, however, sufficient oxygen is needed, and the carbon dioxide concentration should drop to about 0.5%. Otherwise, the primordia will not differentiate and will swell into spherical shapes. During the fruiting body growth and development period, fresh air is needed, and the carbon dioxide concentration should preferably be less than 0.01%.
Light environment
The mycelial growth stage does not need light, and mycelial growth is accelerated in a dark environment. During the primordium formation and fruiting body growth and development period, a certain amount of scattered light is needed, and the suitable light intensity is 500-1000Lx.
pH environment
The pH range for mycelial growth is 4-8, and the optimum pH is 6.5-7.5. The optimum pH value for the fruiting stage is 5.5-6.5.