Key Points of Intensive Cultivation Techniques for the Tea Tree Mushroom

The tea tree mushroom, also known as the tea mushroom, has tender flesh and a crisp stalk, with a pure, delicate fragrance and excellent taste. It is naturally distributed on oil tea trees in places such as Fujian, Taiwan, China, Yunnan and Tibet. In recent years, Jiangxi, Fujian and other provinces have carried out commercial large-scale production, and the products are popular both for export and domestic sale. Its intensive three-dimensional cultivation techniques are introduced as follows:

1. Building the mushroom shed: Whether an indoor mushroom room or an outdoor mushroom room (or plastic tunnel) is used, according to the requirements of pollution-free production, the environmental conditions must be optimized, and the soil, water quality and water source must be free of pollution. For intensive production, the room or shed can be adapted to local conditions. Gutian County, Fujian Province, mostly uses bamboo and wood as the framework, with heat-insulating expanded plastic boards on all sides to form the mushroom room. Inside, 6-7 tiers of shelf beds are set up, each room being 250-300 sq m, cultivating 10,000 bags in one batch. The mushroom room must be hygienic, capable of heat preservation, moisture retention and ventilation, with reasonable lighting.

2. Cultivation season: The mycelium growth temperature of the tea tree mushroom is 10-34°C, with the optimum temperature being 24-28°C; the fruiting body formation and growth temperature is 12-34°C, with the optimum temperature being 22-28°C. According to these biological characteristics, spring and autumn are suitable for scheduling cultivation. In spring, inoculation is suitable in February, with fruiting in April; in autumn, inoculation in August, with fruiting in October, so that natural temperatures can be fully utilized.

3. Substrate process: The production process for tea tree mushroom bags is: ingredient mixing - stirring - bagging - sterilization, all carried out according to routine operations. Commonly used substrate formulas are:

① 50% cottonseed hulls, 22% mixed wood sawdust, 20% wheat bran, 2% lime powder, 5% cornmeal, 1% gypsum powder; ② 40% tea seed hulls, 32% cottonseed hulls, 20% wheat bran, 2% lime powder, 5% cornmeal, 1% superphosphate; ③ 72% mixed wood sawdust, 20% wheat bran, 2% sucrose, 1% calcium carbonate, 1% superphosphate, 1% gypsum powder.

Different raw materials are treated separately before mixing. Tea seed hulls should be crushed into particles the size of rice grains, first soaked in 1%-2% limewater for 10-14 hours, then scooped out for later use. Cottonseed hulls need to have water added 24 hours in advance, stirred and piled to allow them to absorb water. To prevent contamination by competing microorganisms, the cottonseed hulls can also be pre-wetted with limewater before mixing. The moisture content of the substrate should be kept at 60%.

Cultivation bag specifications: For upright bag cultivation, 15×32 cm (or 17×38 cm) high-pressure polypropylene plastic bags with a thickness of 5 mm are commonly used. For factories engaged in industrial production, it is best to use a "space bag" automatic stamping and bagging machine to increase output.

4. Inoculation and culture: Select suitable-age spawn of good quality, with a spawn age not exceeding 80 days. When inoculating, when the bag temperature does not exceed 30°C, place the bags into the inoculation box; various inoculation tools should be disinfected with 75% alcohol and then placed into the inoculation box, and fumigated with a disinfectant by ignition for 15-20 minutes for sterilization before inoculation can begin. During inoculation, the bag opening should be kept near the flame of an alcohol lamp, with the bag opening facing downward; except for a small amount of spawn inserted into the hole, most of the spawn is placed on the surface of the substrate, and then the bag opening is tied tightly. After inoculation, place the bags on the shelves in the mushroom room for culture, maintaining the temperature at 23-25°C, air humidity not exceeding 70%, and weak scattered light. The mycelium-running period in autumn cultivation often encounters high temperatures; pay attention to spreading out the bags to dissipate heat, strengthening ventilation to lower the temperature, and also prevent rodent damage to avoid contamination by competing microorganisms.

5. Fruiting management: When the bags are fully filled with mycelium, after about another 10 days, when the accumulated temperature reaches 1600-2000°C, move them into a previously sterilized production room and open them. Before opening, rinse the bags with 0.5% potassium permanganate solution; after drying, use a blade to cut a small opening of about 3 cm at the top of the bag (or cut off the tied opening) to remove the plastic film, then cover with plastic film. In some places, growers use a simple method: untie the bag opening, straighten the plastic film, and cover it with newspaper. At this stage, maintain the indoor temperature at 20-28°C and the spatial relative humidity at 70%-75%. After opening, do not spray water directly, to avoid contamination by competing microorganisms. Five days after opening, if the humidity is too high, ventilate in the morning and evening for 10-15 minutes; if the humidity is too low, spray water to increase humidity. At 12-16 days after opening, spatial spraying should bring the air relative humidity to 80%-90%; during abundant fruiting, it should be raised to 90%-95%, not exceeding 97%. As the mycelium shifts from vegetative growth to the reproductive stage, the color of the substrate surface changes: yellow water appears initially, then dark brown patches appear, followed by small mushroom buds. As long as the temperature and humidity are suitable, fruiting begins successively within 15-20 days after opening.

6. Timely harvesting: From mushroom bud to harvest generally takes 5-7 days. When the cap is hemispherical and the ring has not yet separated from the stalk, it should be harvested; delaying affects commercial quality. After harvesting the first flush, stop watering for 5-6 days to allow the mycelium to recover its growth and accumulate nutrients for the next flush. After 15 days, raise the air humidity to above 90% to promote the growth of the second flush. From the end of the first flush to the emergence of the second flush generally requires an interval of about 7-15 days. After that, follow the same management methods to produce a third flush. After picking three flushes, if the substrate in the bag has dried out and lost water, the bags can be removed and covered with soil for cultivation to increase humidity, and mushroom production can continue. With proper management, each bag generally can produce more than 200-300 g of fresh mushrooms, or 30-50 g dry weight.