Key Technical Points and Management Methods for Edible Mushroom Cultivation

Edible mushroom cultivation has now become a very popular growing project, but why is it that some growers do not make very high profits?

Misconception one: some people go into production blindly without any edible mushroom cultivation skills; they think the technique is very simple and that they can learn it just by watching someone else grow them. If the person they watch does not have high skills himself, or does not tell you the core techniques, then you will only end up failing.

The cultivation methods for edible mushrooms are as follows: 1. When edible mushroom spores germinate, they do not produce a typical germ tube; instead they first swell to 2-5 times their original size, the spores grow along the long axis, and vacuoles appear inside.

2. The growth temperature range is 5-24°C, with the optimum temperature being 24-27°C, but thanks to the protective effect of the wood, in high-cold mountain areas where the air temperature is below -20°C or in low-altitude areas above 40°C, the mushroom wood can still survive safely and the mycelium will not die. When natural shade is insufficient, build a shade shed (2 m high), or plant crops or melons to provide shade later.

3. Letting the logs dry is actually to regulate the moisture content of the cut logs, so as to facilitate the establishment and growth of the mycelium after inoculation. Different tree species have different moisture contents, so the drying time also differs; it is usually taken as the point when there is no sprouting ability after drying, or when no sap exudes when holes are drilled for inoculation. At this time the moisture content is about 40-45%.

4. After the cotton plugs are inserted, place the test tubes upright in a small wire basket, cover with oil paper or kraft paper, and tie firmly with string; or tie the test tubes into several bundles with string, wrap the cotton plug part with kraft paper, and place them upright in an autoclave for sterilization, maintaining 30 minutes at a pressure of 1.5 kg/cm2. Select mushroom buds that meet the requirements for spawn production. After wiping the surface with 75% alcohol, cut the mushroom bud lengthwise into two with a small knife, cut a small piece of mushroom flesh of 0.5 cubic cm at the junction of the cap and the stipe, and place it in the center of the slant medium. If using an opened-cap shiitake mushroom as isolation material, choose the mushroom flesh at the junction of the cap and the stipe.

I. Selecting oyster mushroom varieties Variety selection is very important; "whether you harvest or not depends on the spawn." Many mushroom growers do not clarify the temperature type of oyster mushroom varieties before growing them, resulting in no fruiting or failure of mycelial growth. Choose high-temperature-type varieties: the fruiting body differentiation temperature can reach 36°C, with the optimum being 20°C-28°C. For example: Xiaping Gao No. 1; others: Gaokang 48, Jiangdu 71, Rekang Wang, Xiayou No. 1, Gaoza No. 1, P40, Yare No. 1, Xiafeng 962, Fuyuan No. 1, etc. 

II. Ensuring spawn quality Good-quality spawn has strong vitality, and after sowing the mycelium grows vigorously. Practice has proved that good spawn can increase yield by more than 30% compared with inferior spawn, and it also has strong fruiting ability, even flushes, and few pest and disease problems.

 III. Site selection The cultivation site for high-temperature oyster mushrooms can be under tree shade, in a large arch shed, a semi-underground mushroom shed, an idle summer vegetable shed, an abandoned house, etc. The requirement is that the covering on the shed must be thick, with good ventilation, convenient drainage, far from pollution sources, and shelter from wind and rain.

 IV. Bag making and cultivation management After introducing high-quality mother spawn, stock spawn can be made in mid-to-late March, cultivation spawn in late April to early May, and cultivation production in late May to mid-June. 

Stock spawn formula: cottonseed hull 87.5%, bran 10%, urea 0.5%, gypsum 1%, sucrose 1%, moisture content 60%. In principle, nitrogen-rich materials are not used in the cultivation spawn formula; you can choose: 1. cottonseed hull 96%, superphosphate 2%, quicklime 2%; 2. cottonseed hull 100 kg, superphosphate 2 kg, quicklime 2 kg, urea 0.3 kg; 3. cottonseed hull 96%, superphosphate 1%, plant ash 1%, gypsum 1%, urea 0.3%; Use cooked-material bag making, with a material-to-water ratio of 1:1.5. After fully mixing the raw materials evenly, fill them into 22 cm x 45 cm x 0.02 cm polyethylene tube material, punch holes, and sterilize; when the center temperature of the material pile reaches 100°C, maintain it for more than 10 hours. For summer cultivation of oyster mushrooms, in addition to selecting good-quality spawn, the inoculation amount must also be increased. Drench the outdoor site with lime water and trichlorfon to kill miscellaneous fungi and pests. Mix materials and inoculate in time, and prevent contamination by miscellaneous fungi during operation. The key technical point is temperature control. After sterilization of the cultivation bags and natural cooling, inoculate in the inoculation room, using the two-end inoculation method to spread the spawn over the material surface at both ends. Then arrange the bags in a single layer on the indoor floor for mycelial growth, with row spacing not less than 50 cm and bag spacing not less than 5 cm. When the mycelium has fully grown to the shoulder, use a sewing needle to prick a ring of small holes at both ends for ventilation. If the material temperature exceeds 35°C, sprinkle water on the floor and ventilate to cool it down. When primordia appear, water management should be strengthened so that the relative air humidity reaches 90%-95% (when spraying water to cool and humidify, do not spray water directly onto the mushroom buds), and ventilation should also be appropriately increased. When the small mushrooms have grown, spray water directly, and control the temperature well, preferably not exceeding 30°C. 

V. Interforest soil-covering cultivation model Interforest soil-covering cultivation: cut open 1/2 of the bag, spacing 5-8 cm, cover with soil to 2/3, leave the bag mouth plastic tube to retain moisture and bring out buds; you can also lay them flat and cover with soil, remove the bag completely, with slightly larger spacing, water more, cover with 2-3 cm of granular slightly finer soil, cover with film to retain moisture, and wait until the mycelium is fully grown. You can also cover with a layer of wheat straw to retain moisture, allow air movement, and the mushrooms grown will be cleaner. When the shading effect is not ideal, set up a shade net or straw curtain. For interforest cultivation, use high-density north-south oriented woodland with little light and good ventilation; tree land with a row spacing of 2.5-3 m is best. 

VI. Fruiting management When the mycelium has fully grown through, and when you press the bag by hand it is firm, solid, and elastic, with yellow water droplets and primordia appearing on the surface, it indicates that the mycelium has reached physiological maturity and can be stacked for fruiting. The mushroom wall can be stacked at most three layers; bags must not be pressed tightly against one another and should leave a 3-5 cm gap for heat dissipation, and layers can be separated with small bamboo poles. In summer the temperature is high and water evaporates quickly, so to ensure humidity, water should be sprayed frequently, 3-5 times a day, to ensure the humidity needed for normal growth and development of the fruiting bodies. A micro-sprinkler system can be installed, which is convenient to use and very effective. 

VII. Harvesting When the oyster mushroom cap has opened to 5 cm, it can be harvested. After harvesting one flush, clean the material surface once, stop watering for two days, then spray one heavy watering to stimulate buds and produce mushrooms; 4-5 flushes can be harvested. High-temperature oyster mushrooms go from sowing to fruiting relatively quickly; under normal management, mushrooms can appear in about 20-odd days, and the biological conversion rate can reach 100%-130%.

 VIII. Prevention and control of main pests and diseases: 1. Yellow (brown) blotch disease Symptoms. Light yellow patches appear on the caps of young mushrooms or in the depressions of the caps of small mushrooms; the young mushroom bodies become sticky, stop growing, and die. The bodies of small mushrooms grow slowly, lose elasticity, and break apart at the slightest touch; the mushroom bodies become sticky and shrivel, giving off a putrid smell, and the disease spreads very quickly, causing the cultivation surface to become sticky and stop fruiting.