Straw Mushroom Cultivation Techniques, Recipes and Nutritional Value Explained
Growing Conditions for Straw Mushrooms
1. Moisture: Straw mushrooms grow best under relatively high humidity. The moisture content of the growing substrate should be around 70%, and the ideal relative air humidity is 90-95%. When air humidity falls below 80%, the fruiting bodies grow slowly and their surface becomes rough and lusterless; when it exceeds 96%, the mushrooms are prone to rot and disease.
2. Light: During the vegetative growth stage, straw mushrooms are not demanding about light and can grow normally in darkness. When they shift to the reproductive growth stage, light is needed to induce the formation of fruiting bodies, but strong light should be avoided; the suitable light intensity is 50-100 lx. The color of the fruiting bodies is related to light intensity: under strong light the straw mushrooms are dark black with a glossy sheen, while under weak light the color is duller and may even be white.
3. Nutrients: Glucose, fructose, sucrose, peptone, asparagine, glutamine and others are all good carbon and nitrogen sources for straw mushrooms. Rice straw, waste cotton and sugarcane bagasse are the main materials for cultivating straw mushrooms. Analyses show that waste cotton is relatively rich in asparagine and glutamine, with these two accounting for 1/3 of its total amino acids, which shows that waste cotton is an ideal material for cultivating straw mushrooms. However, the nitrogen content of waste cotton varies, ranging between 0.25-1.45%, while the nitrogen content of the straw mushroom substrate is best kept at 0.6-1%. Supplementing with soybean powder can increase yields.
4. pH: Straw mushrooms require a pH between 4 and 10.3. The basidiospore germination rate is highest at pH 7.5; during the mycelial and fruiting body stages, pH 4.7-6.5 and pH 8 are suitable.
5. Temperature: Straw mushrooms are a high-temperature fungus, with a growth and development temperature range of 10-44°C. Their temperature requirements vary with variety and growth stage.
① Basidiospores: The germination temperature is 30-40°C, with the highest germination rate at 40°C, followed by 35°C, and the lowest germination rate below 30°C. They do not germinate above 45°C or below 25°C.
② Mycelial growth: They can grow at temperatures of 10-44°C, but growth is slow below 20°C, extremely limited at 15°C, and almost stops at 10°C. Below 5°C or above 45°C causes the mycelium to die.
③ Fruiting body development: The fruiting body development temperature is 24-33°C, with 28-32°C being the most suitable. Below 20°C or above 35°C makes fruiting body formation difficult.
Nutritional Value of Straw Mushrooms
Straw mushrooms are extremely nutritious, containing protein, fat, vitamin C, para-aminobenzoic acid, D-mannitol, D-sorbitol and various amino acids such as aspartic acid, serine, glutamic acid, alanine, threonine, lysine, tyrosine, arginine and valine. They also contain a heteroprotein substance with anti-cancer effects.
1. Boosting immunity: Straw mushrooms are high in vitamin C, which can promote human metabolism, improve the body's immunity and enhance disease resistance.
2. Detoxification: Straw mushrooms have a detoxifying effect. When substances such as lead, arsenic and benzene enter the human body, they can bind with them to form ascorbigen, which is then excreted in the urine.
3. Anti-cancer effects: Straw mushrooms also contain a heterologous protein substance that has the effect of destroying human cancer cells. Their crude protein content exceeds that of shiitake mushrooms, and their other nutrients are roughly comparable to those of wood-decay edible fungi. They likewise have the effect of inhibiting cancer cell growth, and in particular have an auxiliary therapeutic effect on digestive tract tumors, and can strengthen the vitality of the liver and kidneys.
4. An excellent food for diabetics: Straw mushrooms can slow the human body's absorption of carbohydrates, making them a good food for diabetics.
5. Cooling effect: Suitable for eating in the hot summer season, straw mushrooms have a certain heat-relieving effect.
New Straw Mushroom Cultivation Techniques
1. Cultivation season: The suitable temperature range for straw mushroom mycelial growth is 15-35°C, with the optimum temperature being 30-35°C. The fruiting body growth temperature is 26-34°C, with the optimum temperature being 28-30°C. From piling the material to the end of fruiting takes about just over 1 month, making it the type with the highest temperature requirement and the shortest growth cycle among currently cultivated edible fungi. Based on the temperature requirements of straw mushrooms, suitable cultivation periods can be chosen in different regions. Cultivation materials: Cottonseed hulls, waste cotton, wheat straw, rice straw, corncobs, corn stalks, peanut shells and spent oyster mushroom substrate can all be used. Choose dry, fresh straw material free of mold. Site selection and treatment: Vegetable sheds, mushroom sheds, indoor spaces, outdoor spaces, under trees, sun-facing beds, open fields, orchards and other sites can all be used for production. Greenhouses should be covered and disinfected by scattering lime powder before use; old mushroom sheds should be fumigated to kill insects and sterilize.
2. Material treatment: Near the mushroom shed, dig an earthen pit about 6 m long, 2.5 m wide and 0.8 m deep (the pit size can be flexibly adjusted according to the amount of material used). Pile the excavated soil around the pit to increase the pit depth to 1.5 m. Lay 1 layer of thick plastic film in the pit, then lay 1 layer of straw material, and continue in this way until it is filled, with the topmost layer being lime powder, the total amount of lime being about 8% of the total straw material. Place weights on top of the straw material to press it down and prevent it from floating up. Finally, pour water into the pit until the straw material is submerged. At the same time, put wheat bran equal to 8%-10% of the total wheat straw into a bag to soak for 24-36 hours.
3. Building the bed and sowing: Take out the soaked straw material, drain it for half an hour and then bring it into the shed. Build beds running north-south, with a bed width of 0.9-1.0 m. First lay 1 layer of straw about 20 cm thick, then scatter 1 layer of the treated wheat bran. Level it by hand, press it down lightly, and then sow the first layer of spawn. At a sowing rate of 0.75 kg per sq m, take out one third of the spawn, break it into pieces about the size of a thumb tip, and at a spacing of about 10 cm between holes and between rows, sow 2 rows of spawn point by point on each side of the bed. Do not sow in the middle part, because the material temperature there will be too high and will burn the spawn. After that, lay another layer of straw material about 15 cm thick and wheat bran, and sow all of the remaining two thirds of the spawn over the entire bed surface. Finally, scatter a thin layer of straw material over the bed surface to protect the spawn. After pressing it down appropriately with a wooden board, shape the ridge into an arc to facilitate earthing. The total thickness of the material is 30-35 cm, and the walkway between beds is 30 cm wide.
4. Earthing and covering with film: After shaping the bed into an arc, cover the surface of the material with 1 layer of clay soil 2-4 cm thick. Some decomposed fermented manure can be mixed into the walkway. After earthing is complete, cover the bed surface with 1 layer of agricultural film to keep it warm and moist. Old film should be disinfected with lime water or potassium permanganate before use. After covering with film, insert 1 thermometer into the material, observe the temperature every day, and keep it within the suitable range. The material temperature should not exceed 40°C; if it does, immediately remove the film for ventilation and poke holes in the bed with a wooden stick to release heat. After 3 days of spawn running with film covering, lift the film several times a day for ventilation, each time lasting 10-30 minutes. By the 7th-8th day, the spawn will have covered the bed surface. At this point, build arches over the bed and cover them with film. Open half of each end of the arch shed for ventilation, and do not cover the two sides too tightly. If temperature and humidity are suitable, an arch shed may not be needed.
5. Fruiting management: About 10 days after sowing, fruiting begins. At this point, pay attention to lifting the film for ventilation. When many mushrooms are fruiting, irrigate the walkway to maintain moisture and lower the temperature. If temperature and humidity are suitable, remove the film for ventilation to prevent high temperatures from killing the mushroom buds. If the bed is too dry, dig 1 small pit at the side of the shed, line it with film, put in cool water, and after it warms up, spray it on the bed surface. Harvesting: Harvest 2 days after the appearance of buds, harvesting over 4-5 days per flush, 2-3 times a day. After an interval of 3-5 days, the second flush of mushrooms appears. Generally 3-4 flushes can be harvested, and the entire harvest period is 20-25 days.