Large temperature differences in early winter: notes on watering edible fungi and early pest and disease prevention

In early winter, the widening temperature difference causes pests that were originally outside the mushroom shed to enter the shed one after another and cause damage, further increasing the difficulty of control. In actual production, many mushroom growers do not pay attention to prevention, and once pests occur, they use large amounts of chemical pesticides in pursuit of rapid killing, often with unsatisfactory results.

Physical prevention: Since the raw materials may contain live insects or eggs, do not directly sow with raw materials; at minimum, use them after fermentation treatment, and preferably adopt cooked-material cultivation or use them for spawn production. Strictly check whether the spawn carries insects; before subculturing purchased spawn, inspect it carefully to prevent insect-carrying inoculation. Seal ventilation openings and entrances and exits of the mushroom shed with insect-proof nets to prevent adult insects from flying in. Spread lime isolation belts at ventilation openings and entrances and exits to prevent crawling pests from entering.

Chemical prevention: 1. Add pesticides such as phoxim when mixing materials, generally at about 100 ml per 1000 kg of dry material; for raw-material cultivation, it can be added along with material mixing, and the best timing for fermented-material cultivation is to add it before the last turning, as the high temperature and piled fermentation make the insecticidal effect very satisfactory. 2. Within a certain distance outside the shed, after cleaning up waste materials, highly effective insecticides such as trichlorfon can be used to kill insects and cut off the pests' route. 3. Outside the shed and at the ventilation openings and entrances and exits of the shed, spray highly effective low-residue pesticides such as cypermethrin to prevent crawling insects from entering the shed. 4. Inside the mushroom shed, pesticides such as cypermethrin can generally be sprayed to kill insects, and avermectin can be used to kill mites; for pests such as mushroom mosquitoes and mushroom flies, if conditions permit, highly effective insect repellents can be used for repellence.