Introduction to Edible Fungi Cultivation and Pest Control Methods

I. Types of Pests

1. Fungus gnats

These include the sciarid gnat, small fungus gnat, large fungus gnat, mushroom gnat, and others. Adults vary in color by species, being dark brown or yellowish-brown, with a body length of 1.8-6 mm. Larvae are milky white or grayish-white, with a body length of 4.7-16 mm and a black head. They mainly damage the fruiting bodies of edible fungi as larvae, and also damage the growing substrate and mycelium, causing the fruiting bodies to wither and die or rot.

2. Mushroom flies

These include the black-bellied fruit fly, mushroom fly, fungus fly, and others. Adults are brown or black, with antennae shorter than those of fungus gnats; larvae are white and headless. Being headless is the main difference between the larvae and those of fungus gnats. Adults often feed and lay eggs on rotting fruiting bodies. The larvae bore into and feed on the fruiting bodies, causing them to rot, and can also feed on the mycelium, causing it to rot.

3. Springtails

Common species include the horned springtail, black-horned springtail, black flat springtail, and others. Their body length is only 1-2 mm, and they jump well, like fleas. They mainly bite and feed on the fruiting bodies, and also damage the mycelium. They often cause damage in groups. They cover the fruiting bodies with pockmarks. In severe cases, they can eat all the young mushrooms and mushroom buds.

4. Velvet mites

With a body length of only 0.9 mm, velvet mites mainly harm the mycelium, causing it to wither and die in patches.

5. Mites

These include the flour mite, cheese mite, grass mite, root mite, and others. They are microscopic in size, about 0.2-0.6 mm long, and difficult to see with the naked eye. Their bodies are colorless to milky white, yellowish-white, or reddish-brown. They can damage both the mycelium and the fruiting bodies, and in severe infestations can cause a total loss of harvest.

II. Control Methods

1. Clean the mushroom house

Before use, the mushroom house must be thoroughly cleaned, and 800-fold trichlorfon or dichlorvos should be used for pest elimination. For outdoor cultivation, clear the weeds around the cultivation site, and spray the soil with 200-300-fold trichlorfon solution. The area around the cultivation site should also be treated with pesticides to prevent pest sources from invading.

2. Prevent adults from entering the mushroom house directly

Doors, windows, ventilation holes, and the like should all be screened with 60-mesh fine gauze to prevent fungus gnats, mushroom flies, and others from entering.

3. Trap and kill adults

You can take advantage of the phototaxis of adult fungus gnats and mushroom flies by using black light lamps or fluorescent lamps to trap and kill them. Hang dichlorvos-soaked cotton balls around the lamps or place dichlorvos basins. You can also use honey, molasses, and the like with a small amount of dichlorvos added for trapping and killing.

4. Chemical control

① Fumigation of the mushroom house --- Under sealed conditions, use 2-3 tablets of aluminum phosphide per cubic meter of space for fumigation to kill pest sources.

② Treatment of the growing substrate --- The above method can be used to fumigate the growing substrate to eliminate mites in it. Dicofol can also be used to kill mites: for every 50 kg of growing substrate, use 15 ml, add 10 kg of water, spray evenly onto the substrate, then pile it up for 3 days, for a total of 2 treatments. You can also mix into the growing substrate 40% phoxim 500-fold solution or decis 1000-fold solution, 50% omethoate 1000-fold solution, etc., which have a very good pest control effect.

③ Treatment of the bed surface --- If pests are found before mushroom emergence, spray the bed surface with 500-fold trichlorfon solution or 500-800-fold dichlorvos solution, 1000-fold decis solution, etc., to kill them. If pests occur during the mushroom emergence period, first harvest all the mushrooms, then spray the above pesticides to kill them.