How to prevent and control soft rot in oyster mushrooms? These methods are very practical

Dong Yushan from Ligou Town, Pingyin County, Shandong Province, wrote in: "The oyster mushrooms grown in my town and the surrounding townships develop small yellowish-brown spots during the fruiting stage, especially when the fruiting bodies are about 1 cm in diameter, which then rapidly expand, and finally the entire fruiting body turns brown, becomes soft and sticky, and ultimately rots. Even though the mycelium inside the mushroom log is still very dense and white, it is very difficult to get another flush. What disease is this? How should it be prevented and controlled?

Host Yangguang replies as follows:

The situation reported by this friend also occurs quite often in other areas. Judging from the described symptoms, it is exactly the oyster mushroom soft rot that has plagued growers in recent years, and the disease is even more serious in old mushroom houses that have been in production for more than two years. Because the disease occurs on the edible parts, conventional fungicides cannot be used. Therefore, this disease should be prevented first, and the following aspects should be noted in cultivation: (1) Substrate treatment: choose fresh cottonseed hulls or corn cobs as raw materials. Before mixing the substrate, expose them to the sun for 2 to 2 days to use ultraviolet light to kill some of the contaminating microorganisms in the substrate. During fermentation, strictly follow the fermentation process to achieve thorough, even and complete fermentation. Products such as warming fermentation agents, Lixin Junwang or Kemei Wang can be added to improve the fermentation effect and the substrate's own resistance to contaminating microorganisms. (2) Management during the mycelial growth stage: when culturing large bags for fruiting, they should be placed in a cool, ventilated and clean site for cultivation, and as far as possible not cultivated inside the mushroom house (shed), to avoid the breeding of large amounts of contaminating microorganisms during mycelial growth, infection of the substrate or contamination of the fruiting site, and to avoid high-temperature damage to the mycelium and reduce its vitality. In short, promote vigorous and rapid mycelial growth so that fruiting proceeds smoothly. (3) Mushroom house treatment: before using the mushroom house, it is best to leave the shed empty and expose it to the sun for a period, or rotate it with other crops. 2 to 3 days before the fruiting bags are brought into the mushroom house (shed), the old mushroom shed should be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected while empty. Fumigants, sulfur or formaldehyde can be used. (4) Soil disinfection: the soil used in cultivation should be fresh soil from fields or vegetable gardens, far from domestic waste and livestock and poultry farms. The selected casing soil should also be disinfected and piled for treatment.