Detailed Explanation of Key Points of Oyster Mushroom Cultivation Techniques

I. Environmental Conditions Required for Growth and Development

① Nutrition. Oyster mushrooms can utilize many nutrients; both woody plant residues and fibrous plant residues can be used. In artificial cultivation, waste cotton, cottonseed hulls, corncobs, cotton stalks and soybean stalks give relatively high yields in that order, and other agricultural and forestry wastes can also be used, such as sawdust, rice straw, wheat straw and corncobs.

② Temperature. The mycelial growth temperature range and optimum temperature differ somewhat among different species; most species and varieties can grow at 5-35°C, and 20-30°C is the common suitable temperature range for their growth. The optimum growth temperature for low-temperature and medium-low-temperature varieties is 24-26°C, the optimum growth temperature for medium-high-temperature and wide-temperature varieties is around 28°C, and the optimum growth temperature for Phoenix-tail mushroom (Pleurotus sajor-caju) is 25-27°C.

As described above regarding fruit body formation and growth, from the perspective of fruit body formation temperature, oyster mushroom varieties can be divided into several temperature types. Among the varieties of these temperature types, except for special high-temperature species, most species can produce mushrooms at 10-20°C. Within the suitable temperature range, the higher the temperature, the faster the fruit bodies grow, the thinner the caps, and the lighter the color.

③ Humidity. The optimum substrate moisture content for mycelial growth is 60%-65%. When the substrate moisture content is insufficient, mycelial growth is slow, and mushroom production is delayed after mycelial colonization is complete. In raw material cultivation, when the substrate moisture content is too high, air permeability is poor, mycelial growth is slow, and anaerobic bacteria or molds are prone to grow. During the fruiting period, 70%-75% is optimal. When the atmospheric relative humidity is 85%-95%, fruit bodies grow rapidly and robustly; below 80%, the caps tend to dry at the edges or crack; if it exceeds 95% for a relatively long time, mushrooms are prone to rot. In raw material cultivation, the method of relatively dry mycelial colonization and water supplementation during the fruiting period is often adopted to ensure that the colonization period is not infected by molds and to ensure sufficient moisture for fruiting during the fruiting period.

④ Air. Oyster mushrooms are aerobic fungi. The mycelium can grow normally under plastic film cover and can also grow normally in spawn bottles sealed with plastic film. Under a certain carbon dioxide concentration, the mycelium grows better than under the normal carbon dioxide content in natural air. That is to say, a certain concentration of carbon monoxide can stimulate the growth of oyster mushroom mycelium, but the formation, differentiation and development of fruit bodies require sufficient oxygen, and carbon dioxide is harmful to their growth and development. When oxygen is insufficient and the carbon dioxide concentration is too high, fruit bodies are not easily formed, or the fruit body primordia do not differentiate, or secondary differentiation occurs, or deformed mushrooms with large stipes and small caps appear.

⑤ Light. Oyster mushroom mycelium does not require light for growth; light instead inhibits mycelial growth. Therefore, a dark or low-light environment should be provided during the colonization period. However, the occurrence or growth of fruit bodies requires light, especially the formation of fruit body primordia. In addition, light intensity also affects the color of the fruit bodies and the length of the stipe. Comparatively, under stronger light conditions, the fruit bodies have darker color, shorter stipes, thicker flesh and better quality; when light is insufficient, the fruit bodies have lighter color, longer stipes, thinner flesh and poorer quality. Therefore, appropriate lighting should be provided during cultivation.

⑥ pH value. Oyster mushroom mycelium can grow within a pH range of 3.5-9.0, with a suitable pH of 5.4-7.5. In cultivation, after natural compost and natural water are mixed, the substrate pH is mostly 6.0-7.5, which is just suitable for oyster mushroom mycelial growth. However, in actual cultivation, quicklime is often added to raise the pH to 7.5-8.5 in order to inhibit molds and bacteria and ensure mycelial colonization.

⑦ Others. During fruit body growth and development, oyster mushrooms are sensitive to harmful gases in the air such as carbon monoxide, sulfides and acetylene. When the concentrations of these substances in the air are relatively high, fruit bodies stop growing, become deformed or even wither. In addition, they are allergic to dichlorvos; after dichlorvos is used in the mushroom house to kill insects, the fruit bodies curl upward to form “chicken-claw mushrooms”. [Edit this section] Oyster Mushroom Cultivation At present, there are many methods for cultivating oyster mushrooms in our country. These include indoor bed cultivation, intercropping of corn or soybeans with oyster mushrooms, and plastic greenhouse cultivation, etc.

Indoor bed cultivation

1. Mushroom house construction: Existing vacant rooms, basements, etc. can be converted into mushroom houses. If conditions permit, new mushroom houses can also be built. The mushroom house should face south, be located in a place with high terrain, close to a water source and convenient drainage. The size of the mushroom house is preferably such that the indoor cultivation area is 20 sq m. The roof and walls should be thick, and the arrangement of doors and windows should be reasonable, which is conducive to heat preservation, moisture retention, ventilation and light transmission. The interior walls and floor are best whitewashed with lime powder and smoothed with cement for easy disinfection. In addition, a simple mushroom house can be built, namely a semi-underground mushroom house 1.5-2.0 m below ground level. In order to make full use of the mushroom house space, bed frames can also be set up inside the mushroom house for cultivation. The bed frames are arranged north-south, should not lean against the walls around them, and a 60 cm wide walkway should be left between bed frames. The vertical distance between upper and lower bed surfaces is 50 cm, the lower layer is 20 cm above the ground, and the upper layer should not exceed the windows so as not to affect lighting. The bed surface width should not exceed 1 m for easy management. The bed surface is laid with wooden boards, bamboo poles or straw curtains, etc.