Causes of Mushroom Pests and Diseases, Prevention and Control Measures, and Fertilization Techniques

In mushroom production, if necessary preventive measures are not taken, various contaminant fungi and pests will multiply in large numbers and cause great harm to the growth of edible fungi. The principle of giving priority to prevention, with prevention being more important than cure, must be adhered to. The main causes are as follows:

1. The culture medium is rich in nutrients, which is suitable not only for the growth and development of edible fungi, but also for the growth and reproduction of various microorganisms. As long as other microorganisms are present, they will grow and reproduce rapidly and cause harm.

2. Raw materials are prone to microbial infection after becoming damp during storage and transportation. When used, whether through thermal sterilization or pasteurization, spores or insect eggs may not be completely eliminated. When cultivating edible fungi, they will germinate and cause harm.

3. The cultivation environment for edible fungi is not clean, or weeds grow in profusion, or miscellaneous items are piled up, or discarded culture material is piled up, creating conditions for the breeding of contaminant fungi; mushroom houses located close to cattle sheds or chicken coops, old mushroom houses not thoroughly disinfected, an environment that is too dark and damp, and poor ventilation will harbor pests and breed contaminant fungi, which after edible fungi are cultivated will infect the culture material, fruiting bodies, or mycelium.

4. An inappropriate nutritional composition ratio of the culture material, excessive auxiliary materials, excessive water content, unsuitable pH, improper water management during the fruiting period, a stuffy and hot mushroom house, excessive humidity, insufficient light, and delayed harvesting of fruiting bodies will also provide conditions for the occurrence of pests and diseases.

Pests and diseases may occur throughout the entire cultivation period of edible fungi, making them impossible to guard against. In addition, contaminant fungi and pests coexist mixed with edible fungus mycelium in the culture medium, making it very difficult to take separate measures to deal with them; if not handled carefully, it may even lead to mutual destruction. Therefore, insect killing and sterilization are the most important means of prevention. The prevention and control measures are as follows:

1. The site selection and construction of spawn factories must be reasonable. Spawn factories should be far away from houses, livestock farms, and warehouses. The architectural design of the filling room, sterilization room, sterile room, and culture room must be reasonable, so that filled bottles and bags can directly enter the sterile room, and inoculated spawn bottles can directly enter the culture room, reducing transfer time and reducing the chance of contamination during transfer.

2. Pay attention to the sterilization and disinfection of the inoculation room and culture room. The equipment in the inoculation room and culture room should be simple and tidy, and the rooms should be cleaned frequently to remove miscellaneous items. Regular formaldehyde fumigation disinfection should also be carried out. Contaminated cultures should be dealt with immediately and must not be placed or discarded randomly; heavily contaminated spawn or culture material bags should be deeply buried. Avoid repeated contamination.

3. Pay attention to the hygiene of the cultivation room and cultivation site. Mushroom houses and mushroom yards should be far away from warehouses, livestock farms, and garbage dumps. Doors, windows, and ventilation openings of mushroom houses should be fitted with gauze nets to prevent flying insects from entering and leaving. Before use, fumigation disinfection or spraying of chemicals should be carried out for surface disinfection and insect killing. Waste material and residual material after fruiting should not be piled up near the mushroom house. Dead branches, rotten leaves, weeds, and piles of rocks in and around the mushroom yard should be cleared away.

4. Sterilization and insect killing of the culture material must be complete and thorough. Strictly carry out sterilization treatment of spawn culture media and cultivation materials according to requirements. For high-temperature sterilization, the pressure, temperature, and time requirements must all be met, and sterilization conditions must not be arbitrarily changed. Fermentation treatment of cultivation material has the effect of killing bacteria and insects; attention should be paid to controlling pile temperature and turning the pile to ensure that all piled material undergoes the fermentation process. Raw materials for cultivation should be sun-dried before use, and casing soil should be disinfected before use.

5. Strictly inspect spawn to avoid contamination spread by spawn.

6. Remove residual mushrooms promptly and keep the bed surface clean. After picking fruiting bodies, the bed surface should be thoroughly cleaned, and mushroom roots, rotten mushrooms, and diseased mushroom buds should be removed; when necessary, the bed surface should be disinfected.

7. Create environmental conditions to suppress the occurrence of pests, diseases, and contaminant fungi. By making use of the differences between the conditions for the occurrence of contaminant fungi and pests and diseases and the range of conditions for the growth and development of edible fungi, and by utilizing or adjusting temperature, humidity, moisture, light, pH, nutrition, and air conditions, suppress the harm of contaminant fungi and pests and diseases and promote the normal development of edible fungi.