Analysis of Six Major Characteristics of Pest and Disease Occurrence in King Oyster Mushroom (Pleurotus eryngii var. nebrodensis)
1. The culture substrate carries multiple sources of pests and diseases. The hosts of the vast majority of pathogenic bacteria and harmful insects are organic matter. For example, rice straw, cottonseed hulls, and poultry and livestock manure themselves carry large amounts of fungal spores, mycelia, mites, and eggs of mosquitoes and flies. Before use, the culture substrate needs to be sterilized or fermented to eliminate or reduce...
1. The culture substrate carries multiple sources of pests and diseases. The hosts of the vast majority of pathogenic bacteria and harmful insects are organic matter. For example, rice straw, cottonseed hulls, and poultry and livestock manure themselves carry large amounts of fungal spores, mycelia, mites, and eggs of mosquitoes and flies. Before use, the culture substrate needs to be sterilized or fermented to eliminate or reduce the base number of pest and disease sources and lessen the severity of pest and disease damage. 2. The nutrient-rich cultivation substrate provides a good food source for pest and disease reproduction. Many pests and pathogens feed on decomposed organic matter. For example, insects such as springtails, mites, gall midges, nematodes, termites, and phorid flies all feed on decomposed moist organic matter. After fermentation and maturation, the substrate used for cultivating button mushrooms, straw mushrooms, king oyster mushrooms, and king oyster mushroom (Pleurotus eryngii var. nebrodensis) can emit a distinctive odor that attracts adult insects to lay eggs in the substrate. When food sources are abundant, mites and gall midges can rapidly multiply their offspring through maternal reproduction in a short time, often erupting into disaster after 30-40 days. The matured substrate is also a rapid breeding ground for competitive contaminant fungi. For example, spores of Trichoderma, Rhizopus, and Neurospora that fall into a substrate rich in wheat bran, corn flour, and cottonseed hulls and that has been sterilized and matured can rapidly multiply, while the simultaneously inoculated king oyster mushroom (Pleurotus eryngii var. nebrodensis) spawn grows slowly, and the growth rate of contaminant fungi far exceeds the growth rate of king oyster mushroom (Pleurotus eryngii var. nebrodensis) mycelium. In culture substrate that has not been sterilized and matured, contaminant fungi such as Aspergillus cannot infect it, but once it has been sterilized and matured, contaminant fungi multiply very quickly. 3. The suitable fruiting environment provides superior conditions for pest and disease reproduction. The spawn-running temperature for king oyster mushroom (Pleurotus eryngii var. nebrodensis) is 20-26°C, the fruiting temperature is 10-15°C, the moisture content of the culture substrate is about 62%, and the air humidity at the fruiting site is above 85%. The suitable environment accelerates mycelial growth and ensures smooth fruiting, and at the same time also suits the living conditions of certain pests and diseases. 4. Edible fungi and pathogens differ little in physiological characteristics and are relatively similar in physiological traits. Many fungicides easily harm mycelia and fruiting bodies, causing phytotoxicity. For example, thiophanate-methyl and chlorothalonil used in substrate mixing easily inhibit mycelial growth. Carbendazim has an inhibitory effect on king oyster mushroom (Pleurotus eryngii var. nebrodensis) mycelium, and applying dichlorvos results in no fruiting or deformed mushrooms. 5. Pests and diseases invade simultaneously and cross-infect. Mushroom mosquitoes and mushroom flies carry mites and pathogens on their bodies, and when they feed and lay eggs on the culture substrate and fruiting bodies, they spread viruses, mites, and pathogens, thereby infecting the entire environment. 6. Pests and diseases have a wide range of damage, large reproductive capacity, and strong explosive outbreaks. When pathogenic bacteria have not been observed in the early stage, they have already germinated and grown and multiplied within the culture substrate, and by the time they are discovered, damage has already been caused. During the spawn-running period, mycelia cannot be controlled with medication. During the fruiting period, some diseases require multiple applications of medication, while some diseases have no cure. For example, bacterial spot disease and yellow mushroom disease require more than 3 applications of medication to control the condition. Mites, gall midges, and mushroom mosquitoes can feed and cause damage from the culture substrate, mycelia, to the fruiting bodies, and their bodies are distributed on both the surface and inner layers of the culture substrate, feeding and causing damage.
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