When is the most suitable time to harvest wine cap mushrooms?
The wine cap mushroom (Stropharia rugosoannulata) is larger than common edible mushrooms. A common edible mushroom weighs about 10 grams per cap, while a wine cap mushroom weighs around 60 grams, with the heaviest reaching up to 2500 grams, and a diameter of 5-40 cm. It should be harvested in a timely manner according to its maturity and market demand. From pinning, that is, the appearance of the white primordium, to maturity, the fruiting body takes about 5-10 days, varying with temperature. At low temperatures it grows slowly, but the mushroom body is thick and fleshy and the cap is not prone to opening. Conversely, at high temperatures it presents a small cap shape and opens easily. Throughout the entire growing period, 3 flushes of mushrooms can be harvested, and generally the 2nd flush has the highest yield. The interval between each flush is about 15-25 days. Under the natural conditions of Fujian Province, mushrooms can be produced from mid-to-late January until the end of May or early June of the following year, and the most suitable seasons for fruiting are from late October to early December and from March to April.
The suitable harvest time is when the gills of the fruiting body have not yet ruptured or have just ruptured and the cap is bell-shaped. At the latest, it should be harvested when the cap margin is incurved and the gills are grayish white. If one waits until maturity, when the gills turn dark purplish-gray or blackish brown and the cap is flat and spread out, harvesting then will reduce its commercial value. Mushrooms of different maturity levels differ greatly in quality and taste, and those whose caps have not opened are the best.
When the harvest standard is reached, grasp the lower part of the mushroom body with the thumb, index finger and middle finger, twist it gently, and after it loosens, pull it upward. Be careful to avoid loosening the small mushroom primordia around it. After harvesting the mushrooms, the holes left on the mushroom bed should be filled in promptly, and any residual mushrooms left on the bed should be removed, so as to prevent them from rotting and attracting pests that could harm healthy mushrooms. The harvested mushrooms should have their soil-covered stem bases cut off.