Detailed Explanation of Key Techniques for Off-Season Cultivation of Pleurotus pulmonarius

Pleurotus pulmonarius has an attractive appearance, a tender texture, and good taste, and lacks the fishy odor of oyster mushrooms, making it highly favored by consumers. It has large market demand and good cultivation returns. Our farm began research on off-season cultivation techniques for Pleurotus pulmonarius in 2004. After three years of exploration, we have basically mastered the technical requirements for summer fruiting cultivation of Pleurotus pulmonarius.

1. Variety:

Taiwan Pleurotus pulmonarius

2. Cultivation season:

According to the biological characteristics of Pleurotus pulmonarius and the climatic conditions of northern Zhejiang, under natural conditions, autumn cultivation can be arranged with cultivation bags made in August-September and fruiting in October-November; spring cultivation involves making cultivation bags in January-February and fruiting in April-June. Based on the characteristic that Pleurotus pulmonarius can grow and develop under relatively high temperature conditions after primordium formation, refrigeration equipment is used for off-season cultivation. The fungus bags are arranged to be made in April, with fruiting from June-September.

3. Cultivation site:

Pleurotus pulmonarius requires low-temperature stimulation during the flush transition period, so the mushroom shed must have good insulation performance. Steel pipe greenhouses can be used as the frame, covered with two layers of greenhouse film with a layer of foam board sandwiched in between, and then covered with straw curtains on the upper layer. A ventilation pipe is installed every 3 m on the shed roof. The shed area should be controlled at 50-60 sq m. A shelf-style horizontal bag arrangement is used. The shelf height is about 50 cm, and each shed can hold 5000-6000 bags.

4. Substrate formula:

The substrate formula suitable for local off-season cultivation is: cottonseed hull 39%, sawdust 39%, wheat bran 20%, lime 1%, light calcium carbonate 1%, carbendazim 0.1%, and substrate moisture content of about 65%. Using this formula, many flushes can be harvested, and the biological conversion rate is 60-70%.

5. Fungus bag preparation:

Use 17 cm x 38 cm high-density polyethylene bags. Mix the substrate thoroughly according to the formula proportions. Fill the bags to a material height of about 15 cm, put on neck rings, cover with ordinary pressure caps, and then sterilize. After the temperature inside the material reaches 100 degC, maintain it for 10 h. After the material temperature drops below 30 degC, inoculate according to aseptic operating procedures. Each bag of spawn can inoculate 40 cultivation bags.

6. Spawn-running management:

The spawn-running room should be dry and clean. Keep the temperature at 25-28 degC and the humidity at 60%-65%. Cultivate in the dark. If the room temperature is low during inoculation, hot inoculation with stacked spawn running can be used. After the mycelium covers the surface, turn the stacks in time and ventilate for air exchange. Generally, the mycelium can cover the entire fungus bag in about 40 days.

7. Fruiting management:

When primordia form or small mushroom buds appear, open the bags in time and scratch the surface to induce fruiting. After opening the bags, control the temperature at 18-22 degC and the mushroom house humidity at about 85%. Generally, harvesting can be done 3-5 d after bud emergence.

From the second flush onward, low-temperature stimulation is needed. After harvesting the previous batch of mushrooms, dig out the remaining mushroom stems and dead mushrooms, rest the mycelium for 7-10 d, then use a refrigerating machine to cool down. After the temperature drops to 12 degC, keep it warm for 15-20 h, or use a cold storage room and place it in a 6-9 degC environment for 10-15 h, then control the humidity at about 85%. Follow conventional management, and the flush transition and fruiting can then occur.

After 5-6 flushes of fruiting, when the yield decreases noticeably, cut off the film at the bottom of the fungus bag, manage as before, and another 2-4 flushes of mushrooms can be harvested.

7. Pest and disease control:

The stage of opening bags for fruiting is precisely the season when various pests occur frequently. The most serious pest is the mushroom fly. Mushroom flies not only feed on mycelium but also carry in mold, causing contamination. During cultivation, control of the mushroom fly pest must be carried out effectively.

A. Do a good job of environmental sanitation and keep things clean. Prevent the breeding of mosquito and fly pests.

B. Install 40-mesh gauze on doors, windows, and ventilation openings to prevent adult mushroom flies from entering.

C. During the spawn-running and mycelium-resting periods, use low-toxicity insecticides for control. Commonly used pesticides are 4.5% cypermethrin at 1500 times or 4.3% Gujing at 1000 times for spraying.

D. For cultivation bags already invaded by mushroom flies, promptly soak them with Kemeiwang at 300 times plus cypermethrin at 500 times to kill insects and eliminate contaminating microorganisms. The soaking time is 10-15 seconds.

8. Precautions:

When inoculating, the spawn should be distributed evenly on the surface of the bag material to prevent it from resting at the mouth of the neck ring, which would affect mycelium coverage of the surface.

During low-temperature treatment, after the temperature drops to 12 degC, keep it warm for at least 15 hours; otherwise, fruiting will be uneven.