Detailed Explanation of High-Yield Indoor Bed Frame Cultivation Techniques for Straw Mushrooms

1. Basic Conditions for the Growth and Development of Straw Mushrooms

1.1 Nutrition The cultivation material must contain components such as carbon, nitrogen, minerals and vitamins. Therefore, rice straw, wheat straw, hemp stalks, waste cotton, cottonseed hulls, and sugarcane bagasse, which are rich in cellulose, are all raw materials for producing straw mushrooms. Nitrogen-containing compounds are important elements for straw mushrooms to synthesize cell protein. Straw mushrooms can only utilize low-molecular-weight amino acids. Organic nitrogen substances such as wheat bran, rice bran and peptone can serve as nitrogen sources. Straw mushroom cultivation generally does not require the addition of ammonium nitrogen, nitrate nitrogen or urea. In addition to carbon and nitrogen, various minerals such as potassium, magnesium, calcium and phosphorus are also necessary. Generally, cellulosic raw materials already contain sufficient amounts, so no supplementation is needed. When preparing the cultivation material, attention should be paid to the carbon-to-nitrogen ratio of the material. Practice has shown that a carbon-to-nitrogen ratio of 60:1 is most suitable for straw mushroom growth.

1.2 Temperature Cultivation is only suitable when the daily average temperature is stably above 23°C, and straw mushrooms are quite sensitive to external temperature. The temperature range for the growth and development of straw mushrooms is 10-45°C. The temperature range for mycelial growth is 20-40°C, the suitable range is 30-39°C, and the optimum temperature is 35-36°C. Below 15°C and above 42°C, mycelial growth is strongly inhibited. Below 5°C or above 45°C, the mycelium quickly dies. The optimum temperature for fruiting body differentiation and development is 27-32°C, and the optimum temperature for growth is 28-35°C. When the cultivation material temperature is below 28°C and the air temperature is below 24°C, fruiting bodies are difficult to form. When the cultivation material temperature exceeds 40°C, fruiting bodies grow very quickly, are small, and are extremely prone to opening their caps. When the temperature is suitably low, growth is slow, the individuals are large, and cap opening is slow.

In addition, during cultivation, a strict distinction should be made between the growth temperature of straw mushrooms and the optimum temperature for obtaining high yield. As long as the cultivation material is below 28°C or above 42°C for even one day, the yield of straw mushrooms will be seriously affected.

1.3 Humidity The humidity of the cultivation material is 65%-70%, and its requirements differ somewhat from air temperature conditions. When the temperature is high and air humidity is low, 70% is appropriate; when the temperature is low and air humidity is high, 65% is appropriate. Under normal circumstances, the humidity of the cultivation material should appropriately be a bit lower, especially during winter and spring cultivation.

During the mycelial growth stage, 75%-85% is appropriate, and during the fruiting body stage, 85%-95% is appropriate. When humidity is low, mycelial growth is slow and fruiting bodies are difficult to form; when humidity is high and there is too much water, aeration of the cultivation material is poor, affecting respiration, causing mushroom rot and death, and causing a massive proliferation of miscellaneous fungi, diseases and insect pests, while small mushroom buds shrink and die.

1.4 Air Straw mushrooms are aerobic fungi. When growing under environmental conditions above 30°C, respiratory metabolism is very vigorous and consumes a large amount of oxygen. Therefore, appropriate ventilation and maintaining an adequate oxygen supply are important conditions for obtaining high yield. With insufficient ventilation, carbon dioxide accumulates excessively, seriously hindering mycelial growth, and the effect on the growth and development of fruiting bodies is even more obvious. In mild cases, the top becomes sunken, forming navel mushrooms; in severe cases, it leads to dead and rotten mushrooms. Therefore, special attention should be paid to ventilation and air exchange during straw mushroom cultivation, but ventilation should not be too abrupt, especially when the temperature is low, as abrupt ventilation can cause large numbers of young mushrooms to die.

1.5 Light The mycelial growth of straw mushrooms does not require light, but the formation of fruiting bodies requires a certain amount of scattered light. Under completely dark conditions, fruiting bodies are difficult to form, but strong light inhibits fruiting body formation, so direct sunlight should be avoided during cultivation. The intensity of light directly affects the quality and luster of fruiting bodies. With sufficient light, fruiting bodies are darker in color and denser in texture; with insufficient light, fruiting bodies are lighter in color and looser in texture. Consumers can adjust the color of fruiting bodies by controlling light intensity according to different consumption habits.

1.6 pH Straw mushrooms prefer a slightly alkaline environment. The optimum pH for mycelial growth is 7.5, and fruiting bodies grow best in cultivation material with a pH of 8.0. Because the pH of the cultivation material gradually decreases during the growth of straw mushrooms, during cultivation lime is usually added when preparing the cultivation material to raise the pH to 9-10.

2. Indoor Bed Frame High-Yield Cultivation

Straw mushrooms can achieve high and stable yields only when temperature, humidity, ventilation and other factors are well coordinated. In the process of cultivating straw mushrooms, several key links in the management for high and stable yields of straw mushrooms have been summarized.

2.1 Fully disinfect the mushroom house and clean up the surrounding environment

During straw mushroom cultivation, the environment is high-temperature and high-humidity, so there are many diseases and insect pests. Therefore, before cultivation, the weeds around the mushroom house must be cleared, and the mushroom house must be thoroughly cleaned and washed. Open doors and windows for ventilation. After the moisture on the floor and bed frames has dried, spray and brush the floor, bed frames and walls with 3-5 limewater, then fumigate with formalin. The dosage is 10 milliliters of formalin and 3-5 grams of potassium permanganate per cubic meter of space, and fumigate for 24 hours.

2.2 Fully soak the cultivation material and carry out secondary fermentation

Soak waste cotton in limewater, adding 5 kilograms of lime per 100 kilograms of waste cotton. After soaking thoroughly, take it out, make a pile, cover with plastic film and ferment for 2 days. After piling, loosen and mix the waste cotton evenly, adjust the pH to about 9 with lime, move it into the mushroom house, spread it on cultivation racks lined with plastic film at a thickness of 6-8 cm, level the surface of the material, cover with plastic film, close doors and windows, and heat for disinfection so that the temperature of the cultivation material reaches above 65°C and is maintained for 8 hours, thereby achieving the purpose.

2.3 Select high-quality spawn and master the proper spawning temperature The quality of the spawn directly affects the level of yield and the success or failure of cultivation. First, select a good variety according to local consumption habits; second, select uncontaminated spawn of the appropriate age. Uncontaminated spawn of the appropriate age appears white, transparent or semi-transparent in the mycelium, with a small amount of reddish-brown chlamydospores at the mouth of the bag (bottle), and the mycelium grows all the way to the bottom.

Inoculate when the material temperature drops to about 40°C. For winter cultivation, the temperature can be appropriately higher, while in summer it can be appropriately lower. After inoculation, cover with plastic film.

2.4 Management during the mycelial stage The first to fifth days are the mycelial stage of straw mushrooms. After inoculation, close doors and windows to preserve heat and moisture. During these days, only manage temperature, not humidity, light, etc., and maintain the material temperature at about 36°C. It must not be lower than 30 or higher than 40. Open doors and windows for one hour each in the morning and afternoon, and shake the plastic film to provide appropriate air exchange.

2.5 Strengthen fruiting management, uncover the plastic film in time and provide light After about 5 days of vegetative growth, straw mushrooms enter the reproductive growth stage, that is, the fruiting stage. On the fifth day, uncover the plastic film and spray fruiting water onto the surface of the material and into the space to increase the water content of the material and raise the relative humidity of the space, commonly known as "suppressing the mycelium." After spraying water, appropriately increase ventilation and lower the temperature in the house to promote fruiting body differentiation. If the plastic film is uncovered and fruiting water is sprayed 1 day late, fruiting body differentiation will also be delayed and yield will be affected. Generally, during the fruiting stage, the air temperature in the house should be maintained at 28-32°C, the material temperature at 33-35°C, the water content of the cultivation material at 72%-75%, and the relative air humidity at about 90%. On the first and second days of fruiting, water must not be sprayed onto the surface of the material; it can only be lightly sprayed into the space, and water must not be sprayed directly onto the mushroom buds. Starting from the sixth day, a certain amount of scattered light should be provided at night. Open and close doors and windows at night, and leave the air window open for ventilation until harvest. During this period, the temperature in the mushroom house should not change too much, and strong wind should not blow directly onto the mushroom beds; otherwise, large numbers of young mushrooms will die.

2.6 Harvesting After sowing, under suitable temperature and humidity conditions, straw mushrooms show mushroom buds in 6-7 days and can be harvested on the 10th-11th day. Generally, harvest during the egg-shaped stage, when the mushroom body has not yet noticeably elongated. Fruiting bodies grow very quickly, so harvesting should be frequent. Generally, harvest once each in the morning, at noon and in the evening. Harvesting movements should be gentle. Hold the growing part of the straw mushroom with one hand, and with the other hand twist and pick the mature straw mushroom. Do not pull hard like pulling weeds, as this will loosen the surrounding cultivation material, cause mycelial breakage, and cause young mushrooms to die because they cannot absorb water and nutrients. For clustered mushrooms, it is best to harvest them together when most are ready to be picked. During the harvesting period, water generally does not need to be sprayed during the day. If the surface of the material is too dry, lightly spray into the space in the evening. In this way, shrinking of young mushrooms can be avoided, the harvesting period can be extended, and the yield can be increased.