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COMPOST 5


growing rooms ten times larger that hold maybe at least seven lorry loads of compost. This compost originates from multiple incubation and pasteurisation tunnels, so there will always be differences between the individual loads. The key word here is mixing, and that starts at the tunnel facility. Taking compost from several tunnels at the same time, mixing it during loading and unload- ing, and mixing the unloaded compost again before filling will ensure greater homogeneity.


Filling weight per m2 Even if you have good quality compost to start with, you also have to fill the correct quantity in kilos per m2


for


satisfactory results. If not enough compost is filled per m2


, sufficient mass to create the necessary energy for growth and evaporation will be missing. This irrevocably leads to insufficient production and poorer quality mushrooms.


Using under-heating to artificially boost activity with low filling weights does not give the required results, there is still a lack of nutrients. This can be partly com- pensated for by adding a supplement with a marginally lower filling weight, but the effect is limited. Growers sometimes tell me: ‘It doesn’t make any sense using a higher filling weight per m2


.’ They base this


belief on last year’s technical results. The rooms that were filled with more kilos of compost per m2


didn’t


show higher yields, and in some cases performed worse. But this observation is based on an incorrect comparison. In these situations more compost was filled because it was too heavy, too wet and the structure was too short. So it was in fact an entirely different type of compost that was probably less productive anyway. If you fill two parallel rooms with identical compost, but


, or to put it more correctly, to the number of kilos of dry matter filled per m2


.


The production yielded from each extra ton of compost filled will slowly fall away, as the grower is confronted with the law of declining extra production. Other limi- tations will also play a role; supplying enough moisture; adequately managing the temperature; providing enough space on the beds for sufficient quality etc. The optimal filling weight is also financially motivated by the relationship between the fixed and variable overheads on the farm. If the grower can produce many ‘cheap’ mushrooms/m2 lower filling weight/m2


, the choice is often a slightly , to better utilise the potential of


the relatively expensive compost. Compacting


Mushrooms rely on the water in the compost to transport nutrients, and the mycelium needs oxygen for its metabolic functions. But where there is water, there is no air. When compost is compressed, the air is squeezed out. This is not a problem with voluminous, airy compost, and is sometimes necessary. But a slightly softer compost is often over-compacted. This type of compost does not spring back into shape and during cultivation can absorb moisture too easily which causes it to become even denser in the beds. Compacting also increases the tendency of water sprayed onto the compost to remain in the upper layer, creating the risk of a weaker contact layer between the compost and the casing soil. This type of compost should actually not be compressed at all. Growers often say that they compress


use a clearly higher filling weight in one of them, you will notice an obvious difference in production. Mush- room production is namely relative to the filling weight/ m2


Applying water to compost at fi lling gives the best distribution through the entire layer of compost.


An intact contact layer between compost and casing is essential nutrient transport from the compost to the mushrooms.


36 MUSHROOM BUSINESS


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