CULTIVATIONTIPS ADVISIE CAC: take care


The amount of compost added to the casing soil has a big influence on aspects of mushroom growing such as uniformity, colonisation speed, watering and the amount of mycelium. And most of these points ultimately impact on production and quality. So it’s worthwhile taking a critical look at CAC and filling.


By Jos Hilkens


AdVisie ‘the mushroom growing consultants’, Herkenbosch hilkens@mushroomconsulting.nl


, but that amount cannot be set. So you have to perform a careful visual assess- ment. The best way is to grab a handful of casing soil when it is discharged from the filler. Examine the coarseness of the structure and see how many blades of straw it contains. Applying CAC evenly starts with an even layer of compost in the filler. This layer must have a uniform height at the edges and centre of the bed, and the same filling weight. This creates the right conditions for an even application of CAC across the entire bed. Evenness is also the key word with casing soil, because mixing less casing though the same amount of compost introduces more CAC material into the layer of casing. However, the more CAC is applied, the higher the speed of colonisation, which also involves a higher risk of excessive mycelium growth. Too much mycelium growth causes more problems with the moisture balance in the 2nd and possibly 3rd flush.


The CAC axle is height and speed adjustable. The set height determines the amount of com- post added to the casing, while the rotation speed determines how the CAC is distributed and influences the structure of the casing. It’s difficult to state the amount of compost mixed through the casing as an exact figure. You could take the number of grams of compost per m2


False economies By Con Hermans


AdVisie “the mushroom growing consultants”, Heythuysen hermans@mushroomconsulting.nl


Pictures: AdVisie


Rising costs for energy and transport, and, on top of that, huge prices hikes for spawn. So the price of compost has also shot up. Growers are shielded from these increases as far as possible, because the prices paid out for mushrooms are not keeping pace to compensate sufficiently. It’s perfectly understandable that composting yards are trying to cut costs where they can. But we must avoid over-reacting and making false economies. When switching to a different strain at the end of spawning, some remnants of spawn are often left behind in the dosing unit. You can add this spawn to the last few metres in the tunnel, but there are also companies that empty the contents of the machine into a bag, and store it in a cold store until the next week. But what many people tend to forget is that spawn needs oxygen: after all the purpose of the perforations in the spawn bags is to ensure an adequate exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide takes place. The mycelium in the bags also continues to grow in the cold store and needs oxygen. This is more obvious when the spawn is a little older: it becomes whiter and compacted, and eventually turns into a solid lump. An inadequate flow of air into the bag will trigger an anaerobic process inside the bag, the spawn will acidify and differing degrees of damage can occur. The spawn will die, or lose its capacity to colonise the compost. But it can also suffer a genetic ‘blow’, and stimulate the growth of stroma, for example. So, storing spawn residues in a closed bag is not a good idea. A similar lack of oxygen can also take place when spawn is stored in a closed reefer for a longer period, or in a sealed cold store where no outside air can enter. If you are storing spawn for a longer period, make sure there is always a small opening that allows outside air through. Reefers have an inlet which can be opened to 10% for ventilation.


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Jos Hilkens +31(0)653 31 6204


hilkens@mushroomconsulting.nl


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Con Hermans +31(0)653 29 9396


hermans@mushroomconsulting.nl


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