CULTIVATIONTIPS ADVISIE Quality before beauty


Damage to the mushrooms caused by the pickers during harvesting is a hot item. With a higher staff turnover on average and more new pickers, it’s important to pay some extra attention to this. Damage is mainly caused by the wrong picking technique, incorrectly thinning the mushrooms and fingernail marks.


By Jos Hilkens


AdVisie ‘the mushroom growing consul- tants’, Herkenbosch


hilkens@mushroomconsulting.nl


Sliding the mushrooms along the inside of the palm is very common and is especially pro- blematic when the mushrooms are more sensitive due to more moisture in the cap or when they stick to the palm. The mushrooms will still look fine in the first few hours after picking, but discolouration of the cap will appear after 24 hours. Good picking instructions provide the basic skills, backed up by regular checks during picking. And that is often lacking. When thinning out the mushrooms, it’s important to pick from the outside to the inside. But this isn’t always possible if the mushrooms are very close together. Correct thinning in the first two days of picking will prevent the mushrooms growing too close together in the fol- lowing days and retains the quality. Picking by gently twisting the mushroom prevents the pickers exerting too much force on the caps. If a picker uses the wrong technique, she will harvest more mushrooms without stems.


Another regular problem is dents in the mushrooms caused by long fingernails. So, pickers should keep their nails trimmed short! The quality of the picked mushrooms goes before the beauty of the picker.


Apply 70% of water in first 3 days


How much water you can apply in the preparatory phase largely depends on the moisture content and how fermented the compost is, how much mycelium has developed and, to a certain degree, the compost structure. It’s essential to properly distribute the moisture over the compost layer. Good distribution depends on the spray pattern and the amount of water at each spray session.


If you spray over five days, it’s important to spray in sessions of 3 to 4 l/m2 to three days and then reduce the amount to 1 to 2 l/m2


Praktisch advies bij: By Jos Hilkens


AdVisie ‘the mushroom growing consul- tants’, Herkenbosch


hilkens@mushroomconsulting.nl Photos: AdVisie


Klimaat -> betere luchtbeweging


in the first two to steer how much mycelium deve-


lops in the casing. 70% of the total amount of water in the preparatory phase is normally given in the first two to three days. Whether you spray on the day the room is filled mainly depends on the extent of spawn run through the compost and the compost temperature. If the compost is still a fairly dark colour, so there is little mycelium growth, or if the compost temperature is below 21oC, it’s best to wait. Especially with composts with only moderate spawn run , not spraying on the first day will result in a more spontaneous start for the CAC material in the casing soil.


de champignonteeltadviseurs In practice, the amount of water applied to phase III compost varies between 10 and 40 l/m2 Jos Hilkens


If the compost has normal mycelium growth and a moisture content between 60 and 62%, between 20 and 30 l/m2


is more usual. Some examples (applied in litres per m2


Compostbedrijven -> quick scans


per day):


Poor spawn run in compost, dark colour and wet (not in NL): 0; 2; 4; 6; 2 = 14 l/m2 Good spawn run in compost, pale brown to orange colour and drier: 12; 8; 6; 4; 2 = 32 l/m2 Normal spawn run in compost, pale brown colour and wetter: 0; 8; 8; 4; 2 = 22 l/m2


Economisch -> toekomstplannen


(advertisement) Consulting for: the mushroom growing consultants


Con Hermans +31(0)653 29 9396


hermans@champignonadvies.nl . . .


+31(0)653 31 6204 hilkens@champignonadvies.nl


.


Jos Hilkens +31(0)653 31 6204


hilkens@mushroomconsulting.nl


Picking -> analysis and presentation


6 MUSHROOM BUSINESS


Composting -> moisture content


Growing / climate -> better airfl ow


Con Hermans +31(0)653 29 9396


hermans@mushroomconsulting.nl


www.champignonadvies.nl


www.mushroomconsulting.nl


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