CULTIVATIONTIPS ADVISIE
Give your second flush a temperature boost
By Jos Hilkens AdVisie ‘the mushroom growing consul- tants’, Herkenbosch
hilkens@mushroomconsulting.nl
Pinning and growth of the first flush takes about 10 days but there are only three to four days for the second flush to grow. This leaves a lot less time for the correct quantity of pinheads to form and develop into firm and heavy pinheads. Pinheads without a firm, bulbous-shaped tip will not usually develop into good, medium sized medium mushrooms and the individual piece weight will be disappointing. The yield in the second flush will be around 8-10 kg/m2 instead of the preferred 10-12 kg/m2. Heavy pins are created by good casing moisture management, strong mycelium in the casing, a high CO2 content (2000-2400ppm) in the growing room air and a high RH (90- 92%). However, these conditions are also very favourable for bacterial blotch - which is not what growers want! Increasing the air temperature by an extra 1-2° C for the first 12 hours after watering after the first flush can help. This boosts the compost temperature which increases to 24-25° C instead of 23° C and the greater difference between the compost and the air temperature creates more natural exchange. This reduces the risk of bacterial blotch (photo) and good, heavy pins will form. You might expect to see fewer mushrooms with this high temperature, but because this is just a brief rise followed by an optimal climate for the pins, growers will not notice any problems in practice.
Autumn - time to play safe
By Jos Hilkens AdVisie ‘the mushroom growing consul- tants’, Herkenbosch
hilkens@mushroomconsulting.nl
Pictures: AdVisie
Autumn is the season for alertness as the compost and the outdoor climate change. Com- posts are often slightly wetter and less homogeneous as newly harvested straw is used and the horse manure supplied to the composting yard is more heterogeneous. The composter tries to minimise these differences by mixing all the ingredients well. If you closely examine compost, you will see pieces of straw ranging from yellow to black in heterogenous compost. The compost is often less well colonised and less white mycelium is visible which gives the compost a darker appearance. In this situation, it’s sensible to postpone the first watering session for 12 hours and reduce the total quantity of water by 10 to 20%. It is important to avoid pushing towards the upper limits of moisture the compost can handle. A good indicator is the quantity of water in the upper compost layer and moisture distribution throughout the entire compost layer. If the compost is slightly drier more mycelium will grow which. This benefits the transport of as many nutrients as possible from the compost to the mushrooms. It can sometimes also be a good idea to order a lighter casing soil or add a little more CAC material. Controlling how many mushrooms emerge can also be quite challenging at this time of year. The larger difference between the outdoor temperature during the day and at night, and the colder nights, often make pinning very spontaneous which significantly increases the risk of too many mushrooms. Be alert and carefully assess the number of pins and adjust the air temperature if necessary.
de champignonteel tadviseurs Jos Hilkens
+31(0)653 31 6204
hilkens@champignonadvies.nl
(advert) the mushroom growing consultants
Con Hermans +31(0)653 29 9396
hermans@champignonadvies.nl
Jos Hilkens +31(0)653 31 6204
hilkens@mushroomconsulting.nl
6 MUSHROOM BUSINESS
Con Hermans +31(0)653 29 9396
hermans@mushroomconsulting.nl
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