How to Prevent Sour Rot in Oyster Mushroom Substrate? Detailed Practical Measures

Recently the weather has been hot, rainy and humid, which easily breeds spoilage bacteria, and a moment of neglect can cause losses to oyster mushroom production. To prevent and control sour rot in oyster mushroom substrate, the key is to grasp six words: fresh, sparse, increase, air, dark, lower.

Fresh: the substrate used, such as rice straw, corn stalks, wheat straw, etc., should be fresh and free of mold, and should be exposed to the blazing sun for 3 days before use.

Sparse: use relatively small plastic bags with a diameter of 20 cm or less to cultivate oyster mushrooms, and during the spawn-running period stack only 1 layer, without overlapping, to help dissipate heat.

Increase: when mixing the substrate, use lime to increase the pH value, bringing the pH to 8.5-9, or even a little higher, so as to create an environment unfavorable to the growth and reproduction of sour rot bacteria.

Air: keep the oyster mushroom cultivation site ventilated to provide fresh air, which is good for oyster mushroom growth.

Dark: during the mycelial growth period, the environment for oyster mushrooms should be dark; doors and windows can be blocked with black cloth and straw curtains, but when the mushroom primordia form, there should be a certain amount of scattered light.

Lower: implement a "double lowering": first, lower the moisture of the substrate. Generally, in winter and spring the moisture of the substrate is adjusted to 60%-65%, while in summer it should be lowered to 50%-55%. Second, lower the temperature of the oyster mushroom cultivation site. Trees can be planted around the site, or long-vine gourds can be grown to build a fairly tall trellis of gourd vines. In addition, if the temperature is too high (above 30°C), hang wet gauze in a ventilated place or spray water mist to cool it down.