This photo shows excellent quality compost with plenty of mushrooms with nice, thick stems.
slightly higher air temperature slows pinhead growth while a slightly lower air temperature stimulates more pinhead growth. Too much mycelium that has grown too high into the casing layer also holds back strong pinhead formation and growth. This is often seen in localised patches, which causes uneven development. It is advisable to manually spray areas where the mycelium has grown high into the casing in time and to take care that the CAC process is as smooth and homogeneous as possible.
Excessive compost temperatures during spawn run, or when the mycelium is colonising the casing soil, can easily damage the mycelium and therefore slow down growth of the pinheads. One of the accompanying photos show that the first flush of mushrooms along the edges of the beds has already been fully picked, while in the middle of the beds, the first flush of mushrooms still has to be harvested. This situation was caused by too high compost temperatures during phase III and when myce- lium was growing through the casing. Lack of uniformity in the first flush cannot be compensated for in the second flush, as an une- ven first flush simply heralds an uneven second
flush. In addition, the moisture content of the casing will also be irregular. An uneven first flush will not be easy to spray properly either. With automatic spraying systems, it is impossi- ble to apply different volumes of water to the beds in the same growing room if the flush has not developed uniformly.
Conclusion
Lack of uniformity in the yield, no matter how limited, reduces production. Top production is achieved on full beds with little or no differen- ces and certainly no bare patches between the mushrooms. So it is vital to ensure healthy conditions at all stages, and to closely monitor homogeneity and uniformity throughout the entire cropping cycle (including composting), in order to prevent differences. Correct air move- ment in the growing room is also crucial for very uniform growth. In addition, growers have to stay extremely alert during each phase of growing to ensure that no mistakes can be made. Mushrooms are very sensitive to even the smallest details, so it vital to leave nothing to chance. Many years of practical experience are needed to identify and respond to ºproblems in time.
MUSHROOM BUSINESS 33
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