CULTIVATIONTIPS DLV PLANT MUSHROOMS Filling and air distribution
Depending on the market demand, availability of compost or a wrongly estimated fi lling depth, situations can arise where not all the beds are fi lled, or where beds are only partially fi lled. Some farms also have a sixth bed that is held in reserve, but not always fi lled. Smoke measurements reveal that an ‘empty’ bed signifi cantly infl uences air distribution in the growing room. This impact is even greater if one set of shelving is completely fi lled, but the shelving on the other side is only partially fi lled. If you are planning to partially fi ll, we recommend you fi ll symmetrically, as this will create even pressure in the central aisle between the two sets of shelving.
By Jan Gielen, DLV Plant Mushrooms Specialist climate & energy
j.gielen@
dlvplant.nl
Air will always choose the path of least resistance. In the situation in the photo this means the air will fl ow upwards via the open grid in the lowest bed and fl ow towards the central aisle when it hits the underside of the second bed. If the other beds are completely full, the air from this side will fl ow in a stronger stream via the fl oor towards the central aisle causing the air fl ow to swirl and prevent it from rising straight upwards. This causes diff erences in the distribution of air between both sets of shelving.
In the event that the upper bed is empty, the underside of this bed will not divert all of the air, so the bed below will not receive enough air – with all the resulting consequences. To go some way to correcting this, we advise pulling the nets over beds that are empty, or only partially fi lled. This can prevent too much of a negative eff ect on the air distribution.
Is ruffl ing necessary?
By Erik Polman, DLV Plant Mushrooms
e.polman@dlvplant.nl
Photos: DLV
The majority of growers know in advance whether they are going to ruffl e or not. It is not really logical to suddenly decide to ruffl e the beds in a growing room or not. However, it is still a good idea to critically consider why a certain choice has been made. Making a diff erent decision could have positive results. A summary of the options follows: 1. If several rooms are fi lled per week, and for organisational purposes this has to be done on one day, applying more or less CAC and ruffl ing in one of the rooms can still achieve a more uniform spread of the harvest over the week. 2. Precise timing of the fi rst day of harvest is easier if the beds are ruffl ed. Mycelium then emerges on the surface at the same moment, so controlling the climate for pinheading is more even. This is good news for labour planning and for sales. 3. Spreading using only CAC is easier to achieve. However, the better the possibilities of climate control are, the easier it is to create spread using ruffl ing. 4. If the casing soil quality is less than optimal, and spraying has closed the pores on the upper surface of the casing, ruffl ing can have a positive infl uence on the gas exchange and reintroduce some structure in the casing. (see photo of a situation where ruffl ing is absolute necessary). 5. With poor compost quality and irregular colonisation of the casing soil, ruffl ing can elimi- nate part of this unevenness. This allows better steering and moisture balance management. 6. If a lot of CAC is applied to gain time, it is diffi cult to determine the amount and correct moments to apply water. Applying less CAC and ruffl ing after 3- 4 days, followed by a brief recovery period, can also save a considerable amount of time. This method gives good results particularly if mycelium growth in the compost takes longer.
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From nature to nature
From nature to nature. An aspect that has been considered with care by Hooymans Compost B.V. for years. Thanks to innovative technology, the natural process of composting is optimised with the aim of achieving the highest possible quality.
48 MUSHROOM BUSINESS
From nature to nature. Een gegeven waar Hooymans Compost B.V. al jaren zorgzaam mee omgaat. Het natuurlijke proces van composteren wordt dankzij innovatieve technieken geoptimali- seerd waarbij altijd de hoogste kwaliteit wordt nagestreefd.
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