CULTIVATIONTIPS ADVISIE
Recovery period, avoid high compost temperatures
By Jos Hilkens
AdVisie ‘the mushroom growing consultants’, Herkenbosch
hilkens@mushroomconsulting.nl
During the recovery period, mycelium is allowed to grow up to the top of the casing soil. This vegetative growth is more spontaneous at higher air temperatures and with gentle circulation. However, in this situation, the compost temperature rises faster. More moisture will be lost from the casing soil at high compost temperatures of 27-30°C when cool down starts, and pinhead formation will be a less spontaneous process. Mechanical harvesting farms often spray the mycelium to control growth. This improves the moisture balance in the casing soil so it is not so much of a problem. Positive results can usually be gained by maintai- ning a 1-2°C lower compost temperature in the preparation phase, or by reducing the compost temperature to 23°C 24 hours before the last watering session. This buffers the compost temperature to some extent so it is less likely to reach higher values. Another method is to maintain an air temperature of 19.5-20°C during the recovery period instead of 21-22 °C degrees and the grower can still adjust the fan speed. The usual mantra is calm and gentle circulation, but higher circulation is not necessarily a bad thing during recovery and helps control the compost temperature. The RH and CO2
(air inlet closed) are high so
there is no early pinhead formation. The duration of the recovery period is usually fixed with short cropping cycles, but you still have a window of 6-8 hours to play with when necessary. You can use circulation, RH and CO2
at the start of cool down to influence the speed and extent of the initial mycelium contractions.
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18 MUSHROOM BUSINESS
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