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Agrocybe chaxingu
Hypsizygus marmoreus
Clitocybe maxima
Grifola frondosa
Pleurotus eryngii
Agaricus blazei
2. Growing conditions
It is a kind of saprophyte occurring on the grass with animal ordure in summer and autumn, requiring high temperature, wet and ventilate environment. (1) Nutrition requirement This mushroom mainly utilized the crop straws, such as rice straw, wheat straw, corn straw, cottonseed shell and so on and sawdust as carbon resource; the bean cake, peanut cake, wheat
bran, corn flour, ordure of domestic animals and birds and urea, ammonium sulphate as nitrogen resource. According to the study, Agaricus blazei can utilize sucrose and glucose, but not solubility starch; can utilize ammonium sulphate, with the optimum concentration of 0.3%; can also utilize ammonium nitrate, but not peptone. (2) Temperature The mycelia can grow at a temperature range of 10-37C, and the suitable temperature is 2327C. The fruit body can occur at a temperature range of 17-33C, and the suitable temperature is 20-25C. (3) Moisture The optimum water content of the substrate is 55%-60% (the ratio of substrate and water is 1:1.3-1.4). The optimum water content of casing soil is 60%-65%, while the air humidity of mushroom house is 75%-85%. (4) Light No light is needed for mycelia growing, and a little shimmer is of some help to the forming of fruit body. (5) Air Agaricus blazei is a kind of aerobic fungus, and it needs plenty of fresh air for both mycelia growth and fruit body development. (6) pH value It can grows in the substrate with pH of 6-11, and the optimum value is 8.0.
on the ground with shed and wind break, and the cultivation is arranged based on the proper temperature and humidity and the local climate.
2. Spawn preparation
Agaricus blazei also has three degrees of spawn, i.e. stock spawn, pre-culture spawn and cultivation spawn. (1) Stock spawn The PDA medium (flayed potato 200 g, glucose 20 g, agar 18-20 g, water 1000 mL) is adopted generally. The preparation method is: weigh up 200 g flayed potato, clean with water, cut into pieces with size of 1-2 cm, add water, heat and keep boiling for 15 min, avoid over cooking. Filter with 4 layers pledget, add 18 g agar to the filtrate, heat to thoroughly melt the agar, again filter with 4 layers pledget. Add 20 g glucose to the filtrate, dissolve completely, load into the tube before solidification, with the loading volume is about 1/5 of the tube. Then stuff up the tube with cotton plug, autoclave at 1.1 Kg/cm2 for 30 min. Move out of the autoclave, cool for a while, incline the tubes before solidification. Inoculate the tube with good quality stock spawn, and a stock can be transferred to about 30 tubes. Culture at suitable temperature, the mycelia will overgrow the tube in 7-10 days. (2) Pre-culture spawn The sawdust medium (sawdust 77.5%, rice bran 20%, sugar 1%, gypsum 1%, lime 0.5%, water 120%-130%) is adopted generally. The preparation method is: dissolve the sugar in a little water, weigh up the sawdust, rice bran, gypsum and lime and mix well, add the sugar solution into clean water, and pour into the materials mixture, at the same time mix completely. Then fill the substrate into the bottle, clean the mouth and outside of the bottle, stuff up the bottle with cotton plug, autoclave at 1.5 Kg/cm2 for 2 hr. Those stock spawn growing well and no contamination are chosen for inoculation, and a tube can be transferred into 4-6 bottles in restrict sterilization operation. Cultured at suitable temperature, the bottle will be full of mycelia in 3-4 weeks. (3) Cultivation spawn The grain (including wheat, rye, broomcorn, millet and so on) medium is adopted generally. The preparation method is: purify the grain and clean with water, add 17 Kg water into 12 Kg grain, keep boiling for 15 min, continue soaking in the boiling water for 15 min, get rid of the water and slightly dry in the air. 11 Kg cooked grain is added with 120 g gypsum and 40 g calcium carbonate mix well and fill the bottle, autoclave at 1.5 Kg/cm2 for 2 hr. The pre-culture spawn of growing well and no contamination is chosen for inoculation under restricts sterile condition. Cultured at suitable temperature, the bottle will be full of mycelia in 3-4 weeks.
straw and so on can also be used, with assistance of cattle ordure, horse ordure, birds ordure and a little chemical fertilizer. Dry and fresh materials are generally preferred. The following formulas are supplied as reference. (1) Rice straw 65%, dry ordure 15%, cottonseed nut 16%, gypsum powder 1%, urea 0.5%, lime powder 1%, calcium superphosphate 1%, cake fertilizer 0.5%; (2) Sugarcane residue 80%, beef manure 15.5%, gypsum powder 2%, urea 0.5%, lime powder2%; (3) Corn straw (or wheat straw) 80%, beef manure powder 15%, gypsum powder 3%, lime powder 1%, cake fertilizer 1%, urea 0.4% (or ammonium sulphate 0.8%); (4) Reed (or couch grass) 75%, cottonseed nut 13%, dry chicken manure ordure 10%, lime powder 2%, complex fertilizer 0.7%; (5) Rice straw 47%, sawdust 45%, calcium superphosphate 2%, ammonium sulfate 1%, gypsum powder 3%, lime powder 2%, urea 0.3%; (6) Rice straw 80%, beef manure 14%, gypsum powder 35, lime powder 3%, urea 0.6%.
7. Casing soil
About 20 days after spawning, begin casing when the mycelia colonize 2/3 deep of the compost. Casing is a very important step in cultivation, and the quality of the soil will directly affect the production and quality of the mushroom. Casing makes 4 roles in the cultivation of Agaricus blazei: (1) The action of the microorganism in casing soil will stimulate the fruit body forming. (2) After casing, the air exchange decline on the compost surface, the CO2 produced by the mycelia metabolism cannot emanate well, which change the ratio of oxygen and CO2. The CO2 with a certain concentration will promote the fruit body forming. (3) After casing, a relative stable microclimate can be kept in the compost and soil, and the soil always contain plenty of water, so the fruit body will occur continuously under the condition. (4) The stimulation from casing soil and sprinkling water to the mycelia both promote the fruit body forming, and the casing soil can support the fruit body. No casing, no fruit body. The casing soil should have good ability for water keeping and air exchanging, and the hard sandy
soil is not suitable for casing. In general the field soil, peat soil and man-made soil (the river soil or pond soil is added with cattle manure and lime powder, fermented for 1 month with pH value of about 9) can be used. One day before casing, adjust the soil water content of 70%-75%. The spreading mode of flat or saw tooth both can be used in casing soil. The latter means covering a layer soil of about 1cm on compost surface firstly, every 10-15 cm making a soil ridge with width of 10cm and thickness of about 3-4 cm.
8. Fruiting management
The management in fruiting phase is to create better condition for improving the quality and production of Agaricus blazei, so the measures should be adjusted based on the local conditions. It should be done as the following, to hear the weather forecast, make sure if it is overcast, sunny or rainy and if there is the attack from high temperature or cold current, to look the temperature and humidity, and the size, density and appearance of the mushroom, to feel the moisture of casing soil, to smell if the air is fresh in the mushroom house, to check the growth situation of mycelia, the humidity of casing soil and the harmfulness from disease and insect. Under suitable condition, it needs 40-50 days from spawning to the mycelia thoroughly colonizing the compost. If it grows fast, only about 25 days may be needed for button forming. The white button appears on casing surface, and grows to a size of soybean, about 3 days later develops to a diameter of 2-3 cm. At this time stop sprinkling water to avoid dead and deformed mushroom. Here the mushroom will consume plenty of oxygen and exclude CO2, so the ventilation should be pay attention to especially in fruiting phase. At the same time the soil humidity should be noticed and the air humidity in mushroom house should be kept in 85%-95%, which is the most important key step in the water management. 8 days is needed for each flush mushroom, and about 15 days is needed for mycelia growing between two flushes. After harvesting each flush mushroom, clean the bed and supplement water to make ready for next flush fruiting. The whole fruiting phase will last 3-4 months, and harvest 4-5 flushes mushroom. The fresh mushroom production of indoor bed cultivation will reach 10 Kg/m2, while it is 3 Kg/m2 in field bed cultivation.
beginning. Sulfur suffocating or some high-efficiency and low toxicity chemicals can kill the mushroom flies, acarids and wireworms found in mushroom house.