Mushroom cultivation

Agaricus bisporus and Pleurotus spp.

 History of mushroom cultivation
For a brief history of mushroom cultivation, see http://agaricus.ru/en/doc/show/296/

France was the leader in the formal cultivation of mushrooms. Some

accounts say that Louis XIV was the first mushroom grower. Around this
time mushrooms were grown in special caves near Paris set aside for this
unique form of agriculture.

Mushroom Cave Seventy

feet beneath the Surface,
at Montrouge, near Paris.

Outside of Paris, cultivation was done in

limestone quarries where they produced
champignons de Paris.
When you are ready to try your hand at cultivation, here is what you should do -

Decide which species of mushroom you want to cultivate. Commonly. Oyster Mushrooms are the easiest
species to grow. Beginners should start with Oyster mushrooms.

Obtain a culture started from spores (e.g. a clean spore print) or by cloning a fresh mushroom. This is
challenging. A pressure cooker is necessary, and you must have a sterile workplace. Beginners should
proceed to step 3 and purchase ready-made spawn from a supplier.

Obtain spawn for your species of choice. Make your own spawn from a culture or
Purchase spawn from a mushroom cultivation supplier.

Decide what material (called the substrate) that you want to grow you mushrooms on.

Inoculate your substrate with the spawn.

Put your inoculated substrate in an environment with the recommended conditions for
colonization (e.g., 75 F for Pleurotus ostreatus)

Allow the substrate to become fully colonized by the mushroom mycelium. (the spawn run)

When the little mushrooms (called primoidia) first appear (called pinning), put the substrate with
primoidia in an environment with the recommended conditions to promote fruiting. This will mean
controlling temperature, light, humidity, and air flow that your chosen species likes.

Harvest your mushrooms! Ideally, just before spores are released.

 Malt agar

Spawn on grain!

plugs
 http://www.bitterrootrestoration.com/mushroom-cultivation/oyster-
mushroom-cultivation.html
Pleurotus ostreatus is the second most cultivated edible mushroom worldwide after Agaricus
bisporus. It has economic and ecological values and medicinal properties. Mushroom culture has
moved toward diversification with the production of other mushrooms. Edible mushrooms are
able to colonize and degrade a large variety of ligno-cellulosic substrates and other wastes which
are produced primarily through the activities of the agricultural, forest, and food-processing
industries. Particularly, P. ostreatus requires a shorter growth time in comparison to other edible
mushrooms. The substrate used for their cultivation does not require sterilization, only
pasteurization, which is less expensive. Growing oyster mushrooms convert a high percentage of
the substrate (laccase, etc.) to fruiting bodies, increasing profitability. P. ostreatus demands few
environmental controls, and their fruiting bodies are not often attacked by diseases and pests,
and they can be cultivated in a simple and cheap way. All this makes P. ostreatus cultivation an
excellent alternative for production of mushrooms when compared to other mushrooms.
 Diagram of the Pleurotus culture: (1) and (2) cutting up the substrate; (3) filling
substrate into water container, addition of water and Benomyl; (4) covering and
weighting of substrate to submerge it; (5) drying of substrate, addition and mixing-in
of spawn; (6) bagging of substrate, permeation phase; (7) harvesting phase, formation
of fruiting bodies.
P. citrinopileatus
 I. Growth parameters for mushroom cultivation

1. Moisture humidity and substrate

2. Air Exchange - CO2
3. Temperature
4. Lighting

II. Three main stages in Mushroom growth and

reproduction
1. Spawn Run mycelium growing in substrate
2. Primordia Formation - initiation of mushrooms
3. Fruitbody Development ending in cropping
 Creating Conditions for Mushroom Fruiting

High humidity. Most species like 80 to 95% humidity.

Ideal temperature for fruiting varies with species and strain.

Oyster and shiitake have cold and warm weather strain
See Stamets, The Mushroom Cultivator, for growth parameters of
various mushroom species

Good air exchange ventilation or fan, low CO2 levels

Enoki, low light, high C02
Enough light. Indirect sunlight for most species. The button mushroom,
Agaricus bisporus an exception prefers darkness

http://www.mykoweb.com/articles/cultivation.html
 Biotechnology of Agricultural Wastes Recycling Through
Controlled Cultivation of Mushrooms

Most suitable organic compost for

mycelia growing was prepared from
marc of grapes, showing the highest
influence upon the mycelia growing
and fresh mushroom production of
3235 g%.

From the tested nitrogen sources,

barley bran was the most efficient
upon the mycelia growing and fruit
mushroom producing at 35-40 g%,
being closely followed by rice bran at
2530 g% both in case of P. ostreatus
and L. edodes, all data being reported
as fresh biomass. C/N ratio 5-30/1

Among the tested mineral sources,

the natural calcium carbonate
(CaCO3) yielded the best mycelia
growing as well as fungal biomass
production at 28-32 g%; for this
reason it was registered as the most
appropriate mineral source being
followed by natural gypsum (CaSO4 2
H2O) at 20-23 g%.
Under high CO2 levels or with
less frequent ventilation,
mushrooms produce
long stipes with small caps,
while they produce short stipes
with broad caps under low CO2
levels or frequent ventilation.
Agaricus bisporus
 Agaricus bisporus
Phase I
1. Combine compost ingredients on a concrete
foundation, watering and turning ingredients
to mix them. Turn the pile every daily for up to
15 days until the straw softens.
2. Compress the compost, adding poultry
manure or other nitrogen supplement. Add
gypsum to keep bits of straw from sticking
together.
3. Add water and nitrogen supplements to the
compost rick until its internal temperature
rises above 155 degrees Fahrenheit. The
compost is ready when it absorbs water, gives
off a strong smell of ammonia and is a uniform,
caramel color.

http://delfresh.com/html/composting.html
 Agaricus bisporus
Phase II
1. Spread the pile out and cool it to begin the
pasteurization process.
2. Place the compost on trays or in plastic
sleeves made from black lawn bags. Raise the
air temperature to 140 degrees Fahrenheit for
two hours to kill the ammonia-producing
bacteria.
3. Ventilate the area for up to four days,
dissipating ammonia until you can no longer
smell it. Do not allow the inner temperature of
the compost to drop more than 5 degrees
Fahrenheit in a 24-hour period.
Agaricus bisporus

Spawning
1. Scatter spawn, a combination of mushroom
spores and sterilized grains, over the surface of
the compost.
2. Keep a constant temperature of 75 to 77
degrees Fahrenheit in the room where you
keep the growing tray. The compost will
generate heat, but cool the air to keep its
temperature from rising above 80 to 85
degrees Fahrenheit. Higher temperatures will
kill mycelia, the first growth of the spores, and
reduce yield.
3. Add supplements, treated slow-release
soybean meal or other protein, to fuel the
spawns development for two to three weeks.
Subsiding heat in the pile signals the
completion of spawning and beginning of
colonization.
 Agaricus bisporus

Casing
1. Cover the colonized compost with a uniform
1 1/2- to 2-inch layer, called casing to make a
mushroom-growing medium. Make your casing
with pasteurized sphagnum moss peat (pH 4.5)
and add enough garden lime to raise its pH to
7.5.
2. Darken the room -- A. bisporus requires
darkness to grow.
3. Maintain high humidity around the casing
Mushroom and compost tray by spraying with a hose
Compost attachment or spray bottle several times a day.
Avoid overhead watering, which can cause
Pasteurized and casing to clump.
conditioned
compost colonized
by the mushroom
fungus (in white)
recently covered
with a layer of peat
moss and lime
 Agaricus bisporus

Pinning and Cropping

1. Lower the temperature in the room to between 60 and

66 degrees Fahrenheit once bits of fungus begin
forming in little bumps, called pins, on the surface of
the casing.
2. Maintain high humidity and keep the lights off while
mushrooms begin to pin.
3. Begin harvesting mushrooms two to three weeks after
casing, as they become recognizable as mature
mushrooms. During this breaking period, mushrooms
double in size every day.
http://www.ostrommushrooms.com/