18
PHASE IV
Champinter phase IV study trip
At the end of March, Mushroom Office organised a study trip focusing on phase IV tray growing for Champinter. In wintery weather conditions, the group visited Pilzhof and Dohme in Germany, and Hajduk in Poland.
By Mark den Ouden, Mushroom Office
Champinter is a Spanish mushroom production coope- rative located in Villamalea, which lies in the triangle formed by Madrid, Valencia and Alicante. The coopera- tive produces a total of 320 tons each week and mainly supplies high quality, fresh mushrooms to supermar- kets. The compost used by Champinter is produced at a modern composting facility with open bunkers and phase II/III tunnels. The finished product can be supplied in three different ways; bulk, blocks and in trays covered with casing soil. The farms run by the members of the cooperative, where the mushrooms are grown on trays, all differ widely, ranging from exten- sive, very modern farms to small, old-fashioned ones. The demand for fresh mushrooms in is rising. The question at Champinter is how to expand the operations as cheaply, yet effectively, as possible, so that everyone involved can benefit. One of the ideas is to construct large phase IV growing rooms and harvest the mushrooms at the farms run by the members. And what better way to evaluate this system than to see it in operation at first hand.
The Group is shown around at Pilzhof by Kevin Soehle.
Pilzhof Wallhausen Germany Pilzhof is part of the Walkro group. Pilzhof produces phase I compost in Wallhausen, and normal phase II tunnels are used for pasteurisation and conditioning. The compost is spawned on Mondays and Tuesdays.
After 15 to 21 days of spawn run, the compost is remo- ved from the tunnel. This 21-day spawn run compost is filled for use on the company’s own tray farm. This type of compost never causes problems with too much activity, so production is never delayed. The incubated compost is supplemented during deli- very. 60% of the production is filled into trays, while the remaining 40% is transported to customers in bulk. The casing soil is supplied from the Netherlands. The cac material used comes from the compost of the previ- ous week, which means it always has enough power to guarantee the speed of mycelium growth in the casing soil. The trays are supposed to be returned clean to the company, but if they are not they are cleaned by hand before being steamed in a special room. After the steam treatment, the trays are transported to the tray fil- ling line. Over pressure is constantly created in this hall and it is meticulously cleaned every day. The filling weight of the compost in the trays is 90 kg/ m2 and they have standard dimensions of 1.2 by 2.4 m. After filling, the trays are taken by a forklift to the phase IV growing rooms where they are placed lengthwise and stacked eleven high. The short legs on the trays mean that more fit into one growing room and into a lorry, but on the farms where the mushrooms are har- vested a spacer is used to widen the distance between the trays. In “conventional” growing rooms getting the air move- ment right is no easy matter, but it is even more com- plicated in these growing rooms. At Pilzhof they use one large air duct in the middle of the central aisle (see photo) which blows the air upwards and downwards. Air deflectors have been installed at the top of the growing room to guide the air to the left and right of the trays and to create movement over the upper trays. This air duct is raised to prevent any damage when the gro- wing room is being filled or emptied. After two weeks, during which the trays are left in their original position, the trays are ready to be supplied to the growers. They are transported in insulated vehicles, and during very cold winters the trays are protected by bubble wrap. How much the trays produce greatly depends on the cropping schedule and the skills of the grower and can vary between 28 and 35 kg/m2.
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