How to Cultivate the Shaggy Mane Mushroom? Detailed Explanation of Key Planting Techniques

The shaggy mane mushroom, also known as Coprinus comatus and called "fine-split night ear" in Japan, is a rare edible mushroom with both food and medicinal value and broad development potential. Its flesh is thick and tender, its flavor is sweet and delicious, and it is rich in nutrients. The shaggy mane mushroom also has advantages such as being easy to cultivate, high-yielding, good in taste, and easy to keep fresh. In recent years, its cultivation scale in rural areas of our country has developed rapidly, with obvious social and economic benefits. Its key cultivation techniques are as follows:

Cultivation season. The shaggy mane mushroom belongs to the medium-to-high temperature mushroom type and is a straw-rotting soil-inhabiting fungus. The mycelial growth temperature range is 10-35°C, with the optimum at 20-30°C; the fruiting body development temperature is 8-30°C, with the optimum at 16-22°C. Temperature greatly affects the biological conversion rate of the shaggy mane mushroom. Each region should arrange the cultivation season according to its own climatic characteristics. In most places, autumn cultivation is the main method, that is, spawn is produced from May to August, mushrooms are produced from late September to November, and mushrooms can still be produced from April to June of the following year. Spring cultivation is also possible, that is, spawn is produced from January to February, and mushrooms are produced from April to June.

Culture material formulas. ① Rice straw (cut or crushed) 60%, corn flour 8%, dry cattle and horse manure 27%, compound fertilizer 3%, sugar 1%, lime 1%. ② Cottonseed hulls 90%, wheat bran 5.5%, phosphate fertilizer 2%, urea 0.5%, lime 2%. ③ Rice straw, wheat straw, corn stalks, corn cobs, reeds, etc., alone or as a mixture 85%-90%, wheat bran 10% (or corn flour 5%), urea 0.5%, phosphate fertilizer 2%, lime 2%. ④ Cottonseed hulls, mixed grass powder, and spent mushroom substrate 30 kg each, wheat bran or corn flour or cottonseed cake powder 10 kg, urea 0.5-1 kg, phosphate fertilizer and lime 2 kg each. ⑤ Spent mushroom substrate 67%, rice husk 23%, corn flour 8%, lime 2%. Adjust the above formulas to a moisture content of 65%, mix well, and then directly bag them or subject them to conventional heap fermentation (45-60°C) for 3 days before bagging.

Cultivation bag preparation. Use 17 cm × 38 cm or 22 cm × 45 cm polyethylene or polypropylene bags (autoclavable) for cultivation bags. Tamp the material firmly when filling, tie the openings at both ends, then sterilize at normal pressure and inoculate at both ends. After culturing for 25-30 days, the mycelium will fill the bag, and fruiting management can begin.

Unbagging, arranging in beds, and casing soil. Dig a bed 1 m wide, 20 cm deep, and of unlimited length in the shed, and build an arched low tunnel with bamboo strips. After removing the bags from 17 cm × 38 cm spawn bags, arrange them horizontally on the bed with 2 cm between bags, and fill with fertile soil (3-5 cm thick on top), placing about 30 bags per square meter. Cut 22 cm × 45 cm spawn bags into two halves and arrange them vertically, also casing with soil. After more than ten days, the mycelium will cover the bed. Sprinkle cold water and increase humidity to 85%-90% relative air humidity, adjust the temperature to 16-22°C, and uncover the film every day for ventilation to increase oxygen and stimulate the mycelium to knot into mushroom buds.

Harvesting and processing. When the ring on the edge of the cap begins to loosen and still tightly wraps the stipe, harvest promptly; otherwise, after the fruiting body opens its cap, it will turn black and autolyze, losing its commercial value. When harvesting, hold the mushroom body with one hand and cut it off along the soil surface with a sharp knife in the other hand. After trimming off the soil on the mushroom base and the scales on the mushroom body, it can be sold fresh on the market or processed.