Detailed Explanation of Key Techniques for Cultivating Edible Fungi in Woodland

Cultivation of Edible Fungi in Woodland

Conventional edible fungus production mainly has two models. One is factory production, but it has relatively high requirements for facility conditions, and generally requires investment of more than 10 million yuan, so its development is limited and it is not suitable for large-scale promotion; the other is the household production model, which mainly uses greenhouses and plastic tunnels as cultivation sites. The mushroom rooms and production equipment are relatively simple, scattered across suburban districts, and difficult to scale up, and the investment per mu of mushroom sheds needs to be more than 50,000 yuan, so large-scale development is likewise restricted. Because these two production models with fixed facilities produce year after year, they easily cause environmental deterioration, rampant contaminating microorganisms, and worsening diseases, resulting in reduced yields or even total crop failure; disease-prevention chemicals also carry the risk of product contamination and pesticide levels exceeding standards.

Beijing has about 10 million mu of various types of woodland; there are about 1.2 million mu of plain fast-growing forest suitable for cultivating edible fungi. Using woodland for edible fungus production has great development advantages. First, woodland resources are abundant and inexhaustible, allowing large-scale cultivation. Developing edible fungi does not compete with people for food or with grain for land, and can ease the conflict between agriculture and forestry over land. Second, the woodland has luxuriant branches and leaves, and the tree canopy provides shade, so there is no need to build houses or sheds for insulation, reducing facility investment costs; third, the oxygen content among the trees is sufficient, the temperature is lower than outside the forest, the temperature difference is greater, and the air humidity is higher, making it suitable for edible fungus growth. The growing conditions come from nature, with no need to artificially create climatic conditions, and management is extensive, saving labor and effort. Fourth, the woodland air is fresh and pollution-free, so pollution-free food can be produced, and the edible fungi produced have good quality, a strong mushroom flavor, and rich nutrition. Fifth, the waste materials used in edible fungus production can be used as fuel, and can also directly provide organic fertilizer for tree growth, which can both promote tree growth and reduce waste disposal, meeting the requirements of ecological agriculture.

Woodland edible fungus cultivation means stacking fungus sticks (substrate) that have already been fully colonized by mycelium in forest clearings for imitation wild production. Producing edible fungi in woodland can obtain relatively high income. Generally, one mu of woodland can obtain benefits of more than 5,000 yuan, and the high end can reach more than 20,000 yuan, higher than growing other crops. Because the benefits are very good, the cultivation area in the suburbs of Beijing increased rapidly this year: 10,000 mu in Tongzhou, and both Fangshan and Shunyi exceeded 1,000 mu.

Cultivation methods: choose 4-5 year old artificial fast-growing woodland with more than 70% shade (for woodland with weaker tree vigor, auxiliary measures such as shade nets can be appropriately added to improve the shade level), and move the previously prepared edible fungus sticks (requiring fully colonized sticks or sticks where the mycelium at inoculation points has formed continuous patches) or composted fungus substrate into the woodland from April to August, and edible fungus production can then begin. Time to move into the woodland: white beech mushroom from late March to the end of April; shiitake from mid-April to the end of May; wood ear and oyster mushroom from early May to the end of June; button mushroom from early July to early August. For white beech mushroom, use the buried method, that is, make flat beds 1.5-2 m wide in the woodland, place the fungus sticks flat in the beds, and cover with about 2 cm of soil, which can extend the supply period by about 2 months and achieve cyclic reuse; for shiitake and wood ear, use the single-placement cultivation method, or combine with agritourism for shelf cultivation, making it convenient for visitors to view and pick; for oyster mushroom, use buried or wall-style cultivation; for button mushroom, buried cultivation can achieve relatively good results.

After the fungus sticks are moved into the woodland, pay attention to regulating the woodland temperature and humidity, maximize satisfaction of the growth needs of edible fungi, and achieve a abundant harvest.