CULTIVATIONTIPS ADVISIE How much CAC?
How much CAC is applied is a much-debated subject on many farms and has an immense impact on the cultivation process. With too little CAC material in the casing growers cannot spray freely enough. The mycelium will be poor in quality and short on quantity. Recovery growth will be less spontaneous and the beds will take longer to reach the nice, white state envisaged by the grower. In extremely short cropping cycles, growers simply do not have the luxury of an extra day; so on average the casing soil surface will be darker. The weaker mycelium in the casing soil results in lower yields and poorer quality mushrooms.
By Jos Hilkens
AdVisie ‘the mushroom growing consultants’, Herkenbosch
hilkens@mushroomconsulting.nl
The opposite situation can also occur if a grower mixes too much CAC material through the casing. This often triggers excessive mycelium growth. When the mycelium starts to colonise the straw particles, the casing soil can become completely covered with myce- lium in just the space of a few hours if no extra water is applied. The mass of mycelium is young and grows so aggressively that the recovery period has to be reduced. At cool down, the mycelium will have more trouble initiating the pinheading phase. The damage can be limited by tackling this head on at the start, or as an emergency measure spraying the mycelium to restrict growth. If the right measures are applied, you will not usually see any serious problems in the fi rst fl ush. However, problems can be seen when the casing soil is sprayed again after the fi rst fl ush. Introducing enough moisture is hampered by the excessive amount of mycelium in the casing. The result in the second fl ush is often more, but lighter, mushrooms so production and quality are sub-optimal. So, determining the right amount of CAC material to apply is vital. When fi lling starts, critically check how much CAC is applied each time. Make sure you have good light during the evening and on dark days.
The right stem length By Jos Hilkens
AdVisie ‘the mushroom growing consul- tants’, Herkenbosch
hilkens@mushroomconsulting.nl
In an ideal world, mushrooms would be sold with the stems intact. You wouldn’t have to remove them, and it boosts production and the picking performance. With or without the stem makes a diff erence of between 7 and 10%. Therefore, it’s time, as is customary in south Europe, to introduce consumers to this phenomenon. As well as a better shelf life, there are other aspects that justify off ering mushrooms in this way. If you do remove the stems, making a reasonable profi t is still feasible. The correct stem length on all the mushrooms also leads to higher production and picking performance, from 1 to 3%. This makes a signifi cant diff erence, simply by working with attention to detail. As well as the previously mentioned benefi ts for production and picking, a mushroom with its stem intact looks better, is easier to display cap up and sits more securely in the punnet or tray.
Photos: AdVisie
The maximum stem length depends on what the customer wants. A rule of thumb is 1/3 of the cap diameter. If you make sure that all the stems are cut to the maximum length, with a maximum of 1.5 cm, you will get good results. Regularly give priority to stem length at your weekly meetings, as repeating the message is the way to get results.
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Jos Hilkens +31(0)653 31 6204
Mushroom growing Disease control 6 MUSHROOM BUSINESS
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