New Cultivation Method for Enoki Mushrooms Delivers High Returns
The conventional enoki mushroom (Flammulina velutipes) cultivation method commonly used in various regions can harvest 3 crops a year, but the biological conversion rate of the substrate can reach only 100% at most, each growth period lasts as long as 95 days, and only 3 cultivation cycles can be completed in a year. Moreover, the third crop has short and thick stipes and tends to open its caps, resulting in poor commercial quality.
The new one-time substrate cultivation technique formulated here according to the growth characteristics of enoki mushrooms not only achieves a biological conversion rate as high as 193% and shortens the cultivation cycle by 40 days, but also increases the number of fruiting bodies and the stipe height, raising economic returns by about 80%, with very obvious comparative advantages. Its main technical points are as follows:
1. Self-made substrate. Take 84% cottonseed hulls, 14% wheat bran, 1% gypsum, 0.2% monopotassium phosphate, 0.25% magnesium sulfate and 0.55% carbendazim, mix them evenly, then add water at a material-to-water ratio of 1:1.3 and mix well to obtain the substrate.
2. Filling and sterilization. Put the substrate into wide-mouth bottles (bags). When filling, be sure to keep it moderately firm so as to effectively avoid fruiting all over the bottle (bag) in the later stage. After filling, tie the mouth of the bottle (bag) tightly and sterilize it in a normal-temperature pot, steaming at a high temperature of 100°C for 8-10 hours. A pressure cooker can also be used for sterilization, keeping it under a pressure of 1.5 kg/sq cm for 90 minutes.
3. Cultivation at suitable temperature. After the high-temperature (high-pressure) sterilization has cooled completely, under the flame of an alcohol lamp in an inoculation room or inoculation box, use an inoculation spatula to dig the spawn blocks out of the spawn bottle and transfer them into the cultivation bottles (bags), then place them in a culture room for mycelial culture. The temperature of the culture room must be controlled within the range of 22-26°C. Prolonging the culture period at low temperature is strictly prohibited, lest fruiting occur before the mycelium has fully colonized and thus affect yield and quality.
4. Careful management. After the mycelium has fully colonized, promptly move the bottles (bags) into the mushroom yard, open them and scratch the surface to stimulate fruiting. Once primordia form, manage regeneration well to promote a higher density of mushroom buds, then cover with bags or newspaper so that a microclimate with a high concentration of carbon dioxide forms inside the bottles (bags), which is very favorable for the growth of enoki mushrooms.
When they grow to 4-5 cm high, special attention should be paid to water management. The humidity of the cultivation site should be kept at 80-90%, the temperature at 8—14°C, and straw curtains or black plastic sheeting should be used to shade the cultivation site, with the light intensity preferably such that normal vision can vaguely make out No. 5 Chinese characters. When the mushrooms grow to 15-20 cm high, they can be harvested.