CULTIVATION TIPS DLV PLANT MUSHROOMS Four in a row


By Jan Gielen, DLV Plant Mushrooms Manager / Specialist Climate & Energy j.gielen@dlvplant.nl


On new-build farms the trend is to opt for larger growing surface areas and on manual picking farms increasing for four rows of shelving. There are several reasons; reducing the length of the shelving by half creates logistic advantages during work, and is also beneficial for air distribution. Just compare four shelves of 27 m long with two shelves of 54 m long. If the shelves are 54 m long, it is normally not possible to install the climate unit at the entrance to the growing room as a good distribution of air is almost impos- sible to achieve over that distance without temperature differences occurring. The only effective solution is to install the unit in the centre of the growing room, so that air can be distributed to the front and rear of the room from this point. This generally means a higher investment. However, even with a four-row set up there can still be problems with air dis- tribution, although to a lesser extent. The best results can be achieved using three flexible air ducts: one large duct for 50% of the air volume in the central aisle, and two smaller air ducts designed to distribute 25% on each side. The critical point here is the large air duct suspended in the centre of the room. To achieve sufficiently good air distribution the duct would have to be so large it would form an obstruction to the pickers, and any spraying lorries. Using airliners enables a smaller duct to be used, but in this case the speed of the air ejected by the airliners will become much too high, with all the consequences for the lower beds adjacent to the central aisle, and air distribution through the entire room. New is the “hybrid” air duct. This combines airliners and normal perforations to create an acceptable diameter for the duct in the centre aisle, while the airliners ensure good leng- thwise air distribution and a lower ejection speed of air through the normal perforations. The initial trials with this hybrid system are positive.


Training


By Erik Polman, DLV Plant Mushrooms e.polman@dlvplant.nl


Photo’s: dlvplant advertisement


Picking costs are the subject of unremitting attention on many farms. Many growers think that the only element of the cost price they can influence is the picking costs. That is not true, but it is a very important issue on manual picking farms. Now that summer is appro- aching, the time has arrived that farms are going to work with seasonal labour. Explaining how these workers should pick is crucial. Picking too many mushrooms will reduce the number of kilos, picking too few will be detrimental to quality. Be aware that working with labour without the skills to recognise pests and diseases will increase the risk of diseases being spread. Appoint one or two people to remove bubble infections, either just before picking starts or immediately afterwards. Make sure that the rest of the team knows that ac- tion is being taken to control the infection. Spreading salt on the bubble, or the patch it was removed from, shows the person who gave the tip that their information is taken seriously. It is also extremely important to instruct pickers what not to do with pests and diseases: don’t touch them! Instructions about what to with equipment like knives, buckets and gloves are also important for prevention purposes, as well as clear protocols and getting pickers involved in cleaning. The liability can also be limited thanks to instructions about safety and safe working with harvesting equipment. New staff often get an information overload on their first day. Let them re-read information about pests, diseases and safety after a few days. They will tend to absorb the information better and be more aware of the important tell-tale signs. The same of course applies on farms that have a high turnover of staff.


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