POLAND
Exotics workshop in Wolsztyn
On 9th November an exotic mushrooms workshop was held in Wolsztyn - a town located in a region that was once regarded to be the heart of the mushroom industry in Poland. Spawn producer Sylvan and compost producer Holpol organised it.
By Kasia Bieniecka B
oth companies sell their products not only for growing white and brown button mushrooms but also for exotics. Holpol as member of the CNC Group provides a wide range of substrates for cultivation of numerous exotic varieties whereas Sylvan offers a new, innovative medium for exotic spawn – Sonic. Replying to the increasing demand for pleurotus and exotics on the Polish market, the meeting was meant to order the available know-how about pleurotus cultivation as well as to provide the basic knowledge about shiitake, which seems to be the new market winner for the following years. The seminar was completed with a short report on theory and practice in terms of growing Lepista Nuda, a presentation of substrates variety offered by Holpol and the new Sylvan carrier for exotics - Sonic.
Balance and patience
The meeting started with a welcoming words of the organisers – Ilona Okulewicz-Grzelczak from Sylvan and Wojciech Konieczny from Holpol.
They expressed their pleasure over the fact that more and more producers are interested in taking up the challenge of growing other varieties besides agaricus.
‘Being patient is
something a grower must learn when cultivating exotic varieties’.
24 MUSHROOM BUSINESS
The first presentation was delivered by Jorge Calvo (Sylvan Spain) who shared his extensive knowledge about practical aspects of growing pleurotus. Spain is in his opinion the biggest market of growing exotic varieties in Europe and has nearly 30 years tradition in this respect. Now the Spanish market produces ca. 17 000 tons of fresh exotics a year, of which 100% are consu- med localy in the country. There are 8 substrate producers and ca. 120-170 pleurotus producers. According to Calvo, ‘nothing in the cultivation of Spanish pleurotus can be regarded as ‘standard’, and there are no actual guidelines for it’. The substrate can be made with various ingredients, can be pasteurised, cooked or sterilised, the blocks are of different types regarding their weight, size, plastic, perforation. “The impor- tant thing however is to incubate and grow the pleurotus in the same hall and pay attention to the right amount of substrate per m2, take care of right air circulation and humidity.” It’s a false expectation of many growers, he said, that by filling more compost you achieve a higher yield. “The key issue is to find the proper balance for our own farm and its conditions as well as adjust the strain to farm and season.” A common sin commited by growers in Poland and other countries is the big impatience they approach the cultivation process with. “Being patient is something a grower must learn, escpecially with exotic varieties. Growing white mushroom is a job, growing pleurotus is an art.” The presenta- tion contained plenty of practical examples and
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