How are edible fungi cultivated? Application of mist irrigation in greenhouses

Greenhouses are the main area for cultivating edible fungi, and their irrigation requirements for edible fungi are very strict. Mist irrigation is a new water-saving irrigation technology that has emerged in recent years. Water-saving irrigation technologies such as sprinkler irrigation and drip irrigation are difficult to meet the normal growth needs of edible fungi. Therefore, in the process of cultivating edible fungi in greenhouses, mist irrigation has become the main irrigation method.

Mist irrigation is a new irrigation technology that has emerged in recent years. Mist irrigation combines the advantages of sprinkler irrigation and drip irrigation while discarding the disadvantages of both. Mist irrigation involves pressurizing irrigation water, transporting it through a pressurized pipe network to the irrigation area, and then spraying the irrigation water evenly onto the field through special atomizing nozzles. Because the droplet diameter is usually less than 0.5mm, resembling mist or clouds, it is named mist irrigation. Mist irrigation has a good irrigation effect. It can not only meet the normal growth needs of crops, but also increase the air humidity among crop plants, regulate the temperature among crops, and improve the field microclimate. Compared with sprinkler irrigation, the mist irrigation system has less equipment, lower initial capital investment, and a significant yield increase effect, usually increasing yield by about 50%, with remarkable economic benefits. Moreover, mist irrigation does not produce phenomena that often occur with sprinkler irrigation, such as field runoff, soil surface crusting, soil erosion, and reduced fertilizer efficiency. Compared with drip irrigation, mist irrigation has strong anti-clogging performance, lower water quality requirements, and better water-saving effects than sprinkler irrigation and drip irrigation, usually saving more than 60% of water. Furthermore, mist irrigation does not cause the phenomena that occur during drip irrigation, such as excessive water in plant roots easily inducing root diseases, inhibiting plant growth, and soil salt accumulation.

But correspondingly, mist irrigation also has some disadvantages. Mist irrigation is not conducive to reducing the air humidity inside the greenhouse. Excessive air humidity can easily cause large-scale disease outbreaks in edible fungi, so attention should be paid to ventilation of the greenhouse during use. At the same time, sprinkler irrigation can hinder photosynthesis of crops in the greenhouse, reducing the accumulation of organic matter in the edible fungi, indirectly affecting the yield and quality of the edible fungi. During use, the above phenomena should be avoided to ensure the yield and quality of edible fungi in the greenhouse.