Basic illustrated edible and medicinal mushrooms \( PDFDrive.com \).epub by Diego Cunha Zied & Arturo Pardo-Giménez

Author:Diego Cunha Zied & Arturo Pardo-Giménez
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2017-06-27T14:06:58+00:00

14 Mushroom Farm Design and Technology of Cultivation 293

induces pinhead formation in 7–10 days (strain dependent) time. The pins develop into solid button sized mushrooms in another 3–4 days. The air in the cropping room is changed six times in 1 hour to maintain appropriate CO2 concentration in a crop room, as CO2 is at its peak during the first flush (actually peaks at case run).

14.4 Environmental Crop Management

During the entire cropping period, the air temperature of 15–17°C and 85% RH is maintained in the cropping room, with CO2 concentration held at 800–1000 ppm. The bed temperature should always be 1–2°C higher than the air temperature to permit slow evaporation from casing, necessary for upward movement of nutrients in the compost for obtaining healthier flushes of mushrooms. A flush break lasts 4–5 days or even 7 days depending on the intensity of the flush.

In between the flush breaks, no stray mushrooms should be left growing on the bed as it will delay the formation of the next flush. If possible, raise the air temperature by 2–3°C for 24–48

hours in between the flushes to accelerate formation of subsequent flushes. During first and second flush, six air changes are required per hour to get the desired oxygen – CO2 concentration in the cropping room, and after the second flush only four air changes are required as lesser quantities of CO2 are produced with the passage of cropping time. Use the CO2 meter to maintain CO2 concentration in the cropping room at desired levels. Air temperature, RH, and CO2

concentration are three important and vital parameters to be strictly maintained during pinhead formation in the cropping room to obtain a good flush of mushrooms. Deficiency in one of these parameters during pinning will lead to reduced pinhead formation, thereby resulting in reduced mushroom yields. All the parameters are interdependent upon each other, and have to be maintained in the right range for optimal results. Possibly, that is the reason why computer controlled environment maintenance is considered superior as it results in significantly higher mushroom yields for the reasons explained previously. Computer control synchronizes the control of environmental parameters in the desired range for greater productivity.

Mushrooms are harvested when buttons are of 4–5 cm in diameter, tough, stout, and hard.

Hold the mushroom between your forefingers and thumb, rotate it gently to disconnect it from the mycelium in the bed. Dress the mushroom by cutting off the soiled stem portion and collecting different grades of mushrooms in different baskets. Apply fresh casing at places where mushrooms have been removed. Add water at the rate the mushrooms have been harvested, that is for every kg of mushroom harvested add 1 liter of water after harvesting. Do not allow the casing to dry, as it will result in sealing of casing and mat formation.

14.4.1 Watering

The mushroom contains 90% water and that should give us an idea how important water is for crop raising. Mycelium gets water from compost during spawn run and compost + casing during case run and from casing during fruit body formation.

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