How can pests and diseases of edible fungi be effectively controlled?
How can pests and diseases of edible fungi be effectively controlled.
Pest damage inside mushroom sheds creates major obstacles for the development of edible fungus cultivation. To ease this problem, the main pests found in mushroom sheds and their control methods are introduced below.
1. Mushroom flies
The larvae, also called fungus maggots, mainly feed on the fruiting bodies, tunneling through them and harming quality, and the wounds they create are also very easily infected by pathogens, causing rot. Different methods should be used to control mushroom flies at different stages. If large numbers of fungus maggots appear before fruiting, dichlorvos can be used for fumigation at a rate of 0.90 kg per 100 sq m, and at the same time 0.15 kg of a 1% potassium chloride or sodium chloride solution (which can be replaced with 5% salt water) should be sprayed on each culture block; if fungus maggots cause damage after fruiting, low-toxicity pesticides such as derris extract, permethrin and nicotine can be sprayed. (Nicotine can be homemade: take 0.50 kg of tobacco stems, add 5 kg of water, boil, then take the liquid and spray.) In addition, ventilation should be strengthened and the temperature and humidity inside the shed regulated to worsen the pests' living environment and thereby achieve the goal of controlling their damage.
2. Mushroom gnats
Mushroom gnats do the greatest damage during the larval stage. Besides boring and feeding on the surface of the growing medium, some also spin webs that cover the mushroom buds, preventing the fruiting bodies from growing normally. Control method: after harvesting, spray trichlorfon at 500-800 times dilution, and also add nylon netting at the doors and windows of the mushroom shed to prevent adult insects from flying in to lay eggs, reproduce and cause damage.
3. Mites
These are a type of mite. They are very small, crawl quickly, and mainly feed on fruiting bodies and mycelium, causing damage. In control, the first step is to block the invasion of pest sources into the mushroom shed. Because they mainly come from the various feeds in warehouses and feed rooms, when using warehouses, chicken coops, etc. as fungus-growing rooms, these must be thoroughly disinfected, the walls whitewashed with lime, and before use fumigated once more with dichlorvos. If mites are found during the cultivation period, cotton balls dipped in 50% dichlorvos can be hung up for fumigation, or a 1% nicotine sulfate solution can be sprayed. Alternatively, strongly smelling items such as pork bones can be sprayed with pesticides such as parathion and placed near the culture blocks to lure the mites onto them, then removed and burned or killed by scalding with boiling water.
4. Nematodes
Nematodes are a type of colorless small worm, extremely tiny, only about 1 mm long. The larvae attack the mycelium and fruiting bodies. At first the mushroom cap turns black, and later the entire fruiting body turns black and rots, with a musty odor. Control method: when steaming the material, the steam must fully contact the growing medium to kill all nematodes. After fruiting, a 50 mg/kg zinc sulfide solution can be sprayed on the culture blocks to control their damage.
5. Springtails
Also known as soot insects. They have a flexible tail, can jump freely, and their bodies are covered with a waxy layer, so they are not afraid of water. They are often distributed on the surface of mushroom beds or in moist, dark places, biting and eating the fruiting bodies. If they appear before fruiting, a 1:1000 dilution of dichlorvos plus a small amount of honey can be used as a poison bait. Or arsenic acid preparations or organophosphorus preparations can be applied to sweet potato slices as bait. After fruiting, pesticides generally cannot be used directly; at this time, 0.25-0.50 kg of fresh orange peel can be cut into pieces, wrapped in gauze and squeezed for its juice, then 0.50 kg of warm water added, and sprayed at a 1:20 ratio 2-3 times, with an effective rate of over 90% against springtails.
6. Slugs
Commonly known as snails without shells, they are mollusks with bare bodies and no outer shell. They fear light and heat, hiding during the day under bricks and stones and in soil cracks, emerging one after another after dusk to feed and cause damage, then hiding again before dawn. Control method: rice bran or soybean cake mixed with 2% calcium arsenate or aluminum arsenate can be made into poison bait to trap and kill them, or a 15-20 times dilution of sodium chloride solution can be sprayed on the ground to repel adults. Between 9 and 10 o'clock at night is when they are most active, and at this time they can be caught by hand.
7. Thrips
The adults are black, small, slightly flattened, with prominent compound eyes, and the nymphs are orange-red. They mainly suck the juice of the fungal bodies, and in severe cases can cause the fungal bodies to shrivel. Control method: spray with 40% dimethoate emulsifiable concentrate at 1500-2000 times dilution, or 90% trichlorfon or 50% malathion at 1000-1500 times dilution, with a control effect of 80%-90%.
8. Mole crickets
Poison bait gives the best trapping and killing effect. The formula is 50 g trichlorfon, 1500 g rice bran or wheat bran fried until fragrant, 50 g sugar, and 250 mg white vinegar, fully mixed and then scattered on the ground. Mole crickets and gnats die immediately after eating it.
9. Other pests
For false ground beetles, wood-boring beetles, four-spotted leaf beetles and others, spraying derris extract at 500-800 times dilution or 80% dichlorvos at 1000-1500 times dilution can achieve good control effects. Termites are a major pest in the south, mainly damaging fungi such as Fuling. Digging out nests to destroy termites is an effective way to avoid or reduce termite damage. In addition, the tree-of-heaven branch method can be used: dig a small trench around the mushroom shed, place fresh tree-of-heaven branches evenly in the trench, and cover them with soil; this has a strong repellent effect on termites.
I. Keep the mushroom yard clean. Before cultivation, the mushroom house must be thoroughly cleaned, and evenly sprayed once with an 800 times dilution of trichlorfon or dichlorvos solution (use 30% trichlorfon emulsifiable concentrate at 800 times dilution, or 50% dichlorvos emulsifiable concentrate at 800 times dilution, and spray evenly). For outdoor mushroom cultivation, clear the weeds around the cultivation site, and spray the soil and the area around the site with a 250 times dilution of (30%) trichlorfon solution (emulsifiable concentrate).
II. Prevent adults from entering the room. For indoor fungus cultivation, doors, windows, ventilation openings, etc. must be fitted with 60-mesh fine gauze to prevent adult pests such as mushroom flies and mushroom gnats from entering the room and causing damage.
III. Fumigation with chemicals. For indoor edible fungus cultivation, under sealed conditions, fumigate with 2-3 tablets of aluminum phosphide per cubic meter of space to eliminate indoor pest sources.
IV. Treat the growing medium. For every 50 kg of growing medium, use 15 mL of (20%) dicofol, mix with 10 kg of water, and spray evenly on the material while turning it; after spraying, pile it up for 3 days to eliminate pest sources (mites) in the material. Alternatively, mix 40% phoxim at 500 times dilution into the growing medium; both have good insecticidal effects.
V. Spray pesticides to kill insects. If pests are found before fruiting, spray the bed surface with a 500 times dilution of (30%) trichlorfon solution or a 1000 times dilution of a killing solution or an 800 times dilution of (50%) dichlorvos solution (emulsifiable concentrate) to kill the insects.