Detailed Explanation of Key Management Techniques for Button Mushroom Cultivation
How do you manage button mushroom cultivation? What should you pay attention to? Netizens with experience are asked to help introduce this. Zhongdiwang has compiled management methods for cultivating button mushrooms, listed below for netizens' reference. 1. Nutrient management: The button mushroom is a saprophytic fungus and relies entirely on the nutrients in the compost to grow and develop...
How do you manage button mushroom cultivation? What should you pay attention to? Netizens with experience are asked to help introduce this.Zhongdiwang has compiled management methods for cultivating button mushrooms, listed below for netizens' reference.
1. Nutrient management:
The button mushroom is a saprophytic fungus and relies entirely on the nutrients in the compost to grow and develop. The carbon sources that button mushrooms can use include glucose, sucrose, maltose, polyxylose, starch, vitamins, hemicellulose and lignin, etc. They must rely on other microorganisms and the enzymes secreted by the mushroom mycelium to decompose these into simple carbohydrates before they can be absorbed and used.
The nitrogen sources that button mushrooms can use include urea, ammonium salts, peptone, amino acids, etc. Mushroom growth also requires certain mineral elements such as phosphorus, potassium and calcium, as well as trace elements such as iron and molybdenum. Therefore, when preparing the culture medium, in addition to the main raw materials such as manure and straw, chemical fertilizers such as urea, ammonium sulfate and superphosphate, as well as gypsum and lime, should be added in a certain proportion to meet the needs of button mushroom growth and development.
2. Temperature control:
The temperature for button mushroom mycelial growth is between 5-33°C, and its optimum temperature is 23-25°C. Below 5°C growth is slow; above 25°C, although the mycelium grows quickly, it is thin and weak and tends to age. Above 32°C the mycelium easily deteriorates or turns yellow and collapses, to the point of stopping growth.
Fruiting bodies can form at 7-22°C, with 15-18°C being the most suitable. Within this temperature range, the fruiting period lasts only about 3 months. Within the range of 13-18°C, the fruiting period can last 6 months.
Fruiting bodies formed at lower temperatures are white, thick and sturdy, with a round and neat mushroom shape, thick flesh and high yield. During the formation of fruiting bodies, especially from the young bud stage to the young mushroom stage, the temperature can only be maintained at the original level and must not be allowed to rise again, otherwise it will cause large numbers of thin-skinned mushrooms that open their caps prematurely or a large number of mushroom buds to shrivel and die.
Because the mycelium is essentially like interconnected "tubes", at lower temperatures the mycelium twists together to form mushroom buds, and nutrients are transported in a concentrated way to the mushroom buds through the flow of protoplasm in the mycelial cells to supply their growth and development. If the temperature rises again, especially if the higher temperature lasts too long, the mycelium will instead transport the nutrients in the mushroom buds to the surrounding mycelium to supply mycelial spreading growth, resulting in the death of large numbers of young mushroom buds. The best temperature for spore release is 18-20°C; if it exceeds 27°C, even a fairly mature fruiting body will not release spores. The best temperature for spore germination is 24-26°C; too high or too low will prolong germination time or prevent germination.
3. Control of moisture and humidity in the compost:
The water needed by button mushrooms during growth comes from the compost, the casing soil and the relative air humidity of the cultivation site. During the button mushroom mycelial growth stage, the moisture content of the compost is required to be 60-65%. Below 50%, mycelial growth is slow, with many fluffy but thin hyphae, and fruiting bodies are not easily formed; above 70%, the oxygen content in the compost decreases, and button mushroom mycelial growth will likewise be affected.
The humidity of the casing layer should be maintained at about 18-20%. Too dry will affect the development of the mycelium and young mushrooms and lower the quality of the button mushrooms. During the fruiting period, the relative air humidity should be controlled between 85-90%. If it exceeds 95%, water droplets will remain on the mushroom caps for a long time, making various bacterial spots likely to occur; if it is below 70%, the cap surface will harden and may even crack, and the mushrooms are prone to becoming hollow; if it is below 50%, the small mushroom buds will shrivel and die, and fruiting will stop.
4. Management of air in the mushroom room:
The button mushroom is an aerobic fungus, and whether during the mycelial growth stage or the fruiting body formation period, it needs sufficient fresh air. During the mycelial running stage, the CO2 concentration should be controlled within 0.034-0.1%. If it exceeds 0.1% during the fruiting stage, the caps will be small and the stipes thin and long, and the caps will very easily open; if the CO2 concentration is higher than 0.5%, it will inhibit fruiting body differentiation and stop fruiting, while at the same time the fluffy mycelium in the compost grows vigorously and grows up to the surface of the casing soil. Therefore, ventilation and air exchange should be carried out in a timely manner to provide sufficient fresh air.
5. Light control:
Button mushroom growth does not require light, and the entire process can be carried out under completely dark conditions. Fruiting bodies grown in a dark environment are white in color, round and neat in shape, and of better quality. However, when fruiting bodies form, it is best to have the stimulation of scattered light. At this time, the light in the mushroom house should not be too bright either; if the light is too bright, the surface of the mushroom bodies easily dries and turns yellow, and quality declines.
6. pH value of the compost:
Button mushroom mycelium can grow at a pH value between 5.8-8.0, and the most suitable pH value is around 7. Because the mycelium produces carbonic acid and oxalic acid during growth, and these organic acids accumulate in the compost and casing layer, the environment in which the mycelium lives gradually becomes acidic and the pH value drops. Therefore, when sowing, the pH value of the compost should be adjusted to between 7.8-8.0; the pH value of the soil particles should be adjusted to around 8.0. This is both beneficial to mycelial growth and can inhibit the occurrence of molds.
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