Non-polluting Prevention and Control Techniques and Methods for Edible Mushroom Pests and Diseases

I. Ecological Management

The degree of suitability of environmental conditions is the most important inducing factor for the occurrence of edible mushroom pests and diseases. Based on the biological characteristics of the cultivated edible mushroom species, selecting the optimal cultivation environment and adopting management methods that conform to physiological characteristics during cultivation management is the most fundamental control technique for pest and disease prevention. Selecting strains with strong pest and disease resistance and stress resistance, and appropriately increasing the sowing rate, can enhance pest and disease resistance.

1. Pay attention to environmental hygiene

Maintaining good environmental hygiene is one of the important means to effectively prevent and control various harmful organisms, and is also the foundation for the success of other control techniques. Do a good job of daily cleaning and hygiene work, promptly burn or deeply bury waste and contaminated materials; promptly clear weeds, standing water and various organic residues from the surrounding environment to avoid breeding of pests and diseases; avoid using unclean sewage water; control the flow of personnel in the cultivation site. In addition, after each cultivation season ends, the mushroom yard should be thoroughly cleaned.

2. Scientifically design the cultivation site

It is necessary to create an environment favorable to edible mushrooms and unfavorable to the occurrence of pests and diseases. Generally, infection zones such as raw material warehouses, mixing plants, and fertilizer storage yards should be isolated from susceptible zones such as spawn rooms, inoculation rooms, culture rooms, and fruiting sheds, to prevent materials, personnel, and waste from flowing from contaminated areas to susceptible areas. Therefore, culture rooms should be separated from mushroom yards and mushroom sheds to reduce contamination during the culture period.

II. Physical Control

Pests and diseases each have their own physiological characteristics and living habits. By utilizing these characteristics of the fungi and insects that harm edible mushrooms, physical, non-pesticide control can also achieve satisfactory management results.

1. Ingredient mixing should be careful and reasonable

Select fresh, non-spoiled raw materials; do not add excessive sugar or grain-type nutrients when mixing ingredients; require a slightly alkaline pH when mixing. Strictly follow sterilization procedures to avoid batch contamination caused by incomplete sterilization.

2. Improve mushroom yard facilities to reduce mosquito and fly intrusion

Doors and windows of the mushroom yard should be fitted with insect-proof nets, screen windows, etc. Close doors promptly when entering and leaving the mushroom house to prevent adult flies and mosquitoes from flying in to lay eggs.

3. Select appropriate temperature and humidity

Selecting appropriate temperature and humidity can promote the growth and development of mycelium. During the mycelium growth period, excessively large or high temperature differences are unfavorable to mycelium growth. For example, the characteristic of Neurospora crassa is that it favors a high-temperature, high-humidity ecological environment. By controlling the cultivation environment below 70% humidity and below 22°C, Neurospora crassa can be rapidly inhibited, while the mycelium growth of many edible mushrooms is not affected. This is also a good method of non-polluting management.

4. Control based on the physiological characteristics of certain pests

By utilizing the phototaxis of certain pests, lights can be used at night to trap and kill them. By utilizing the special preference of pests for certain foods and odors, certain foods mixed with drugs can be used for trapping and killing.

III. Biological Control

Biological control is a method of pest and disease prevention that uses certain beneficial organisms to kill or inhibit pests or harmful fungi, thereby protecting the normal growth of cultivated edible mushrooms (or crops). This is what is meant by using insects to control insects, using fungi to control insects, using fungi to control fungi, etc.

The main types of action of biological control of edible mushroom pests and diseases are the following three.

1. Predation In nature, some animals or insects can feed on certain pest(s). The former is usually called the natural enemy of the latter. When natural enemies exist, the population quantity (population density) of pests is naturally reduced. For example, spiders prey on mosquitoes and flies, so spiders are the natural enemies of mosquitoes and flies. For the control of mushroom pests, Digamasellus can prey on nematodes, while Parasitus and Nenteria have broad feeding habits and can prey on Lycoriella fungus gnats, gall midges, and Rhabditis nematodes.

2. Antagonism Due to mutual restriction among different microorganisms, a phenomenon in which one microorganism inhibits the growth and reproduction of another microorganism through mutual resistance is called antagonism. By utilizing antagonism, various harmful fungi can be prevented and inhibited. In edible mushroom production, selecting excellent strains with strong mold resistance is an example of utilizing antagonism.

3. Occupation effect Cultivation practice shows that most contaminating fungi are more likely to infect uninoculated culture substrates, including compost, log segments, and substitute substrate media. However, when edible mushroom mycelium spreads across the surface of the substrate, or even completely "eats through" the substrate, contaminating fungi are less likely to occur. Therefore, in spawn production and edible mushroom cultivation, the method of appropriately increasing the inoculation amount is often used to allow the spawn to occupy the culture substrate as quickly as possible, achieving the purpose of reducing contamination. This is an example of utilizing the occupation effect to inhibit contaminating fungi.