How to prevent deformed mushrooms when growing oyster mushrooms in winter?

When cultivating oyster mushrooms in winter, poor management can easily lead to various deformed mushrooms, reducing their commercial value and thus lowering economic returns.

1. Big-foot mushroom: after the primordia form, the differentiation and development speed of the cap is inconsistent, showing only growth of the stem, thick at the bottom and thin at the top, with no mushroom umbrella forming; the diameter of the cap is smaller than the diameter of the stem, forming a big-foot deformity. The stem of this kind of mushroom is relatively hard, and its commercial value is relatively low.

Preventive measures: pay attention to ventilation and reasonable watering. Even during continuous low-temperature weather, during the fruiting period you should still take advantage of the warmer time of day to carry out short periods of ventilation. Water frequently, but do not water too heavily at one time.

2. Blue mushroom: during the growth process of the mushroom body, a blue halo appears at the edge of the cap, and even the entire mushroom body turns blue-black, and it does not fade even at harvest time.

Preventive measures: for warming measures, methods such as sunlight, heating, and electric heating are preferable. If burning firewood or coal is used for warming, closed heat-transfer and smoke-exhaust pipes should be installed, and it is not advisable to directly build stoves inside the mushroom house.

3. Tumor-capped mushroom: tumor-like or granular protrusions appear on the surface of the cap, called blistering or wrinkling inside the mushroom house, and the mushroom body shows slow growth. In severe cases, the cap becomes rigid and shrinks, and the mushroom body stops growing.

Preventive measures: when planting oyster mushrooms in winter, you must clearly understand the minimum temperature that the mushroom body of the cultivated variety can tolerate for normal growth and development, do a good job of heat preservation and warming measures, and control the temperature of the mushroom bed. When adopting variable-temperature stimulation measures, they should also be controlled within the suitable temperature range for mushroom body development, and the cooling process should not last too long. Generally, medium-temperature varieties should be controlled above 8°C, and low-temperature varieties should be controlled above 0°C.