What to Do When Oyster Mushrooms Won't Fruit? Causes and Solutions
Oyster mushrooms are a relatively common variety of edible fungi. They tolerate a range of temperatures, can be cultivated all year round, and are also the easiest of the edible fungi to fruit. Unlike other mushroom species, they fruit very readily in high-temperature, high-humidity environments. However, if a large number of them fail to fruit during cultivation, something must have gone wrong in certain methods. Let's take a look at the causes and solutions for oyster mushrooms not fruiting.
1. Improper choice of variety
Choosing substandard spawn during cultivation will lead to failure to fruit. Different oyster mushroom varieties have different suitable growing temperatures. According to their suitable growing temperature, they can be divided into three types: low-, medium- and high-temperature types. If a high-temperature type variety is chosen but planted in a low-temperature environment, it will not fruit.
Solution: When choosing spawn, be sure to base the choice on the local climate and temperature, and select a variety suitable for cultivation. It is best to first conduct a fruiting temperature trial for the variety, and then put it into large-scale production, to reduce cultivation risk.
2. Substrate alkalinity too high
When preparing the growing medium, some lime powder is added. If too much lime powder is added, the substrate alkalinity will become too high, affecting the normal growth of the mycelium, and thus causing failure to fruit.
Solution: For this situation, there is no need to worry. During growth, the mycelium produces certain acidic substances through metabolism, which will continuously neutralize the pH. Once it reaches a certain level, the mushrooms will fruit, though yield will be affected to some extent.
3. Excessive use of chemicals ⟧11⟧During mycelial growth, other contaminant fungi may appear. Generally, the vigor of contaminant fungi is not as strong as that of oyster mushroom mycelium, and the oyster mushroom mycelium can later cover them. However, if the cultivation environment or cultivation practices are improper, these contaminant fungi may grow faster than the oyster mushroom mycelium. At this point, fungicides are used to inhibit the growth of contaminant fungi, or pesticides are used during pest control. Excessive use of these chemicals will kill the oyster mushroom mycelium, causing failure to fruit.
During mycelial growth, other contaminant fungi may appear. Generally, the vigor of these contaminant fungi is not as strong as that of oyster mushroom mycelium, and the oyster mushroom mycelium can later cover them. However, if the cultivation environment is unsuitable or cultivation practices are improper, these contaminant fungi may grow faster than the oyster mushroom mycelium. In this case, fungicides must be used to inhibit the growth of the contaminant fungi, or pesticides may be used during pest control. Excessive use of these chemicals will kill the oyster mushroom mycelium, resulting in no fruiting bodies.
Solution: When using chemicals, be sure to pay attention to the concentration and dosage, to prevent harm to the oyster mushroom mycelium.
4. Improper cultivation environment
Cultivation has certain requirements for temperature, humidity and light. Extreme environments such as high temperature, low temperature or excessively low humidity will all cause oyster mushrooms not to fruit. In addition, oyster mushroom mycelium does not need light during growth, but during primordium differentiation it needs scattered light; otherwise it is unfavorable for fruiting, and in severe cases it will cause failure to fruit.
Solution: The cultivation environment must meet the fruiting conditions for oyster mushrooms. At high temperatures, strengthen ventilation or spray water mist to cool down; at low temperatures, use a greenhouse to raise the temperature; when humidity is low, spray water mist to increase humidity; if light is insufficient, supplement light artificially.
The above are the causes and solutions for oyster mushrooms not fruiting. We hope this helps you. To learn more about oyster mushroom cultivation, please stay tuned to us.