Detailed Explanation of the Main Cultivation Techniques for Oyster Mushrooms

(1) Preparation of the cultivation site Currently, oyster mushroom cultivation in Guangdong mainly uses two methods: indoor bed cultivation and bag cultivation. The mushroom house for indoor bed cultivation can be converted from an ordinary house, pigsty or warehouse, or a simple mushroom house can be built, with bed frames set up inside; the method of setting up the bed frames can refer to the specifications of bed frames in straw mushroom houses. Plastic bag cultivation can be done indoors or under a plastic greenhouse or other shed framework, with no need for bed frames. All cultivation sites are best with a concrete floor, or a floor covered with plastic film. Before cultivation, it must be cleaned thoroughly, and for old mushroom houses or sites converted from pigsties or warehouses, disinfection measures must be taken, fumigating with sulfur, or fumigating with formalin or spraying limewater.

(2) Technical process for indoor bed frame cultivation of oyster mushrooms: raw material preparation -> soaking material -> stacking fermentation -> spreading material -> disinfection -> spawning -> mycelium stage management -> fruiting stage management -> harvesting -> clearing material -> cleaning the mushroom house. (1) Soaking material and stacking fermentation Soak cottonseed hulls or waste cotton thoroughly with about 2% limewater, take them out and cover with plastic film to stack and ferment for 2 to 3 days. When making the stack, place wooden boards or bamboo strips underneath to help drain excess water. (2) Spreading material and disinfection Before spreading the material, mix the culture material thoroughly, control the moisture content at 60%-65%; if the material is dry, spray water, and if the material is wet, spread it out to evaporate excess moisture. Spread the material to a thickness of about 7 cm, cover with plastic film, pass in steam or heat with a coal stove to 65°C and maintain for 4 to 6 hours. Stop heating, let it cool naturally for 24 hours, then open doors and windows for ventilation, and spawn when the material temperature drops below 28°C. (3) Spawning The spawning amount is about 10% of the dry material weight. The spawning method uses spot spawning. After spot spawning, sprinkle a layer of spawn on the surface of the material, and cover with plastic film after spawning. Mycelium stage management: After spawning, keep the material temperature above 15°C and below 28°C; check frequently within one week, and deal with contamination or failure of mycelium to germinate promptly. When contamination is found, promptly dig out the contaminated material and sprinkle a small amount of lime powder; if the mycelium does not germinate, promptly reseed. Generally, about 20 days after spawning, the mycelium can cover the surface of the material and grow to the bottom of the bed. After another 10 days or so, primordia form. During the entire mycelium growth period, the film may not be removed, but the mushroom house should be properly ventilated. (4) Fruiting stage management and harvesting Primordia begin to form 30 to 40 days after spawning; at this time, increase ventilation, remove the plastic film, increase scattered light, and control the relative air humidity at about 90%. Generally, about 7 days after primordia formation, they can be harvested. When harvesting mushrooms, generally pick the whole cluster. After finishing one flush of mushrooms, reduce ventilation; generally after about 10 days the second flush begins to form. At this time, in management, besides paying attention to ventilation and providing appropriate scattered light, appropriately increase the amount of water sprayed. Generally, 3 to 4 flushes of mushrooms can be harvested, and the whole growth cycle is about 70 days. At the end of cultivation, promptly clear the culture material out of the mushroom house and clean it thoroughly.

(3) Technical process for oyster mushroom bag cultivation: preparation of culture material -> filling bags -> sterilization -> cooling -> inoculation -> mycelium stage management -> fruiting management -> mushroom harvesting. (1) Preparation of culture material Pre-warm the raw materials (cottonseed hulls, miscellaneous sawdust, rice straw, etc.) and stack them for fermentation for 2 to 5 days. Mix according to 90% raw materials and 10% auxiliary materials (5% wheat bran, 2% gypsum powder, 1% compound fertilizer, 2% lime), mix thoroughly, and control the moisture content at 60% and pH 7.5. When the temperature is high, add 0.1% carbendazim. (2) Filling bags After the material is mixed, it can be filled into bags. The specifications of the plastic bags are generally about 22 cm to 24 cm wide and about 45 cm long. First seal one end of the bag, then fill the material, and after filling, seal the bag opening. (3) Sterilization and cooling Put the filled bags into a sterilization pot for sterilization. When using high-pressure steam sterilization, the method is the same as sterilization for making production spawn. Another method is commonly used pressure sterilization, building an earthen stove with bricks and cement, building a square pool-like structure above the iron pot of the stove, with inner dimensions generally 1 m x 1 m x 1.5 m, leaving a well-sealed door on the side that can be opened and closed, and setting up 3 to 4 layers of bed frames inside for placing plastic bags during sterilization. During sterilization, first add water to the pot, then stack the filled bags on the bed frames in the stove, seal the door well, heat with a strong fire, start timing when the temperature in the stove rises to 100°C, maintain for about 12 hours and stop heating. After cooling, move the bags into the inoculation room. (4) The inoculation method is similar to inoculation of cultivation spawn. Generally, each bottle of 750 ml cultivation spawn can inoculate 8 bags of culture material (both ends must be inoculated). After inoculation, seal the bag openings well. (5) Mycelium stage management Indoors or in a greenhouse, cut beds on the ground, with a bed width of about 35 cm, a height of about 10 cm, and unlimited length. They can be built with bricks, or built with soil and covered with plastic film on top. Then place the inoculated plastic bags on top, stacking layer by layer, generally about 6 layers. After stacking, frequently check the temperature in the stack; generally it must not exceed 30°C; if the temperature is too high, reduce the stacking height and properly ventilate to cool down. Generally at about 25°C, after 20 to 25 days of cultivation, the whole bag can be fully colonized. About 30 days after inoculation, young mushrooms begin to form. (6) Fruiting stage management When young mushrooms appear, promptly open the bag openings, properly increase ventilation, increase the relative air humidity to about 90%, and spray water or mist 3 to 4 times a day. Generally after 5 to 10 days they can be harvested; after finishing the first flush of mushrooms, generally after about 10 days the second flush can emerge. Generally 3 to 4 flushes of mushrooms can be harvested, and the whole cycle is about 70 days. (7) Harvesting When the oyster mushroom caps are basically expanded and the color changes from dark to light, before the spores are discharged, is the best harvest period for oyster mushrooms. When harvesting, usually pick the whole cluster of mushrooms, and after picking, use a small knife to cut off impurities at the base. Oyster mushrooms in Guangdong are mainly sold fresh. (4) Main diseases and insect pests and their control The most serious damage is contamination by miscellaneous fungi; common miscellaneous fungi include Trichoderma, green mold, yellow mold, Rhizopus, etc. The main control methods are: select materials free of mold, subject the culture material to stacking fermentation and sterilization treatment, strictly disinfect the cultivation site, and promptly remove any contamination found. Proper ventilation to prevent excessively high temperature and excessively high humidity. Oyster mushroom cultivation also often shows physiological diseases: 1) Partial death of small mushrooms: when there are too many small mushrooms, some will die, mainly dying of "starvation" due to insufficient nutrition; spraying water too early or excessively high temperature and excessively high humidity can also cause small mushrooms to die. 2) Big-foot mushroom: often caused by poor ventilation and excessively high carbon dioxide concentration. 3) Withering of young mushrooms: mainly due to the culture material being too dry or the air humidity being too low. The main insect pests in oyster mushroom cultivation are mushroom flies and others; generally, the methods for controlling miscellaneous fungi can better control pests such as mushroom flies. At the same time, during handling, try to prevent the plastic bags from being damaged.