Stropharia rugoso-annulata

Cultivation of wine-cap stropharia

Wine-cap stropharia (Stropharia rugoso-annulata), also called wine-red stropharia, verdigris agaric, Chinese name is Daqiugaigu, it is the one of ten-top trade-mushrooms in the world mushroom market, also one of the mushrooms commended to be cultivated in developing countries by FAO

Main parameters of cultivation of Wine-cap stropharia are introduced below:

Basic Parameters

  1. Temperature of spawn running is 21-27°C, humidity of substrate is 70-75%; Time of incubation is 25-45 days; density of CO2 is above 2%, aeration once per day, illumination is not need.
  2. Temperature of initiating 10-16°C,humidity of space is 95%-98%;time is 14-21days; density of CO2 is under 0.15%; aeration four or eight time per day or according to density of CO2 ;Illumination is 100-500 Lux
  3. Temperature of fruiting is 16-21°C, humidity of space is 85%-95%; time is 7-14 days, density of CO2 is under 0.15%, aeration four or eight time per day,Illumination is 100-500 Lux,the period between flashes is three-four weeks.

Preparation of spawns

The method of Spawn making in Wine-cap stropharia is the same of in button mushroom or straw mushroom. The substrate suit to spawn of Wine-cap stropharia is below:

Medium of Mother culture

  1. MYA, peptone 1g, yeast 2g, maltose 20g, agar 20g, add water till 1000mL,
  2. PDYA, potato 200g(boiled with 1500mL water for 20 min, filled), yeast 2g, peptone 1g, Dextrose 10g, agar 20g, add water till 1000mL
  3. MYA, oat powder 80g, yeast 2g, maltose 20g, agar 20g, add water till 1000mL

Medium for mother spawns and spawns

  1. wheat straw or rye straw, cut in 2-3 cm, dumped in water,filled in bottle, sterilized?
  2. Wheat, rye, corn, millet, durra, etc. dumped in water, boiled through but not tore ,add 2% CaCO3,filled in bottles and sterilized?
  3. 40% sawdust and 40% little piece, wheat bran 20%,made for spawns

Inoculation

Inoculation amount (spawn/substrate) may be at least 10%, 15-20% is better.

Incubation

After inoculation, spawn bottles are incubated in the incubating room in 20-28°C After growing a few days, the speed of growing of mycelium will slow down, the method to improve the growing of mycelium is blending, shaking the bottles of spawn once per 3 or 7 days, in order to break the mycelium, stimulate the regrow of mycelium and prove the vigorous grow of mycelium.

Season for cultivation

According to the biological character of wine-cap stropharia , local climate and planting establishment, decision is made when to cultivation of stropharia. In the middle Europe, stropharia are beginning to cultivate from the middle ten days of May or June. In the north of China, if prevented with plastic shed, stropharia can be cultivated in the whole year except severe winter and hot summer.

Substrate of cultivation

Cultivation of stropharia can utilize straw of crops as raw material. Without adding any organic fertilizer,mycelium of stropharia can grow well and fruit. If straw will be adding fertilizer of nitrogenous, phosphor, kalium, mycelium of stropharia will grow bad instead. Cultivation of stropharia on sawdust, stall fertilizer, leaf and dry grass is also not ideal. Cultivation of stropharia in large area needs large amount raw material, so raw material must be collected and reserved ahead. Straw of crops may be straw of rice, corn, soja , wheat, barley and rye.

Straw of early rice and late rice can be both utilized,but straw of late rice have longer term of growing, texture of straw is more forcedly,used to cultivated stropharia and will give longer term of fruiting and higher production?Good or bad quality of rice straw will be directly impact the production of stropharia. The rice straw suit to cultivation of stropharia will be dry enough and fresh. Straw stored for long time may be partly degraded by microorganism, and hide acarid, wireworm, springtail and leaf mold, etc., All will give low production, can not be used to cultivated stropharia, Clean, fresh and dry straw will be not benefit to grow kinds of mold and pest,so mycelium of stropharia growing on this kind of material will grow fast and production of fresh fruit will be the best high. Test indicated that, 12 Kg fresh stropharia will be produced per square meter cultivated on fresh straw, but 5 Kg on old straw and only 1 Kg on perish straw, it show quite discrepancy among them. Besides main material, cover for composting and film for preventing from rain must also be prepared. The cover can be used with old sesame bags after washing and dry, also used thicker cloth, or folded paper.

Mode of cultivation

Stropharia can be cultivated in mushroom farm in ground mold, tray mold and shelf mold, not cultivated in intensives. In China, most cultivation are on crude substrate outdoors, because of need no special instrument, easy execution, easy management, low cost of cultivation, cultivation of stropharia will give good economic benefit.

Mold one: utilizing spare field in winter, shatter forest and wasteland of hillside. This shed mold suit to the grower in the suburb where has large fresh mushroom market.

Mold two: utilizing orchard and banana garden to cultivate stropharia without setting up shed,saving labor and work, in the hot weather of the end of summer and beginning of fall, effect of prevention from hot and keep humidity is quite good by utilizing orchard and banana garden naturally to keep out of sunshine. This mold is suit to the growers who are early spawning, fruiting, coming to market and getting money.

Mold three: utilizing plastic vegetable shed to cultivate stropharia,can avoid the affect of bad climate in winter and spring, obtain the aim of easy to manage, fast to fruit, steady and high production,and can scientific adjust the peak of fruiting in the low season of vegetable, fill the requires of market.

1. Cultivation location

Outdoor cultivation: Outdoor cultivation is the main methods of cultivation of stropharia. The place of warm, avoiding of winds and conceal can provide the microclimate suiting to the growing of stropharia,the place of half of conceal suits to the growing of stropharia,but steady conceal can badly disturb the growing of stropharia(such as the umbrage under the tree ).

Choose of location: the place where near water source but not convenient can be chosen. Because large amount of straws must be soaked in cultivation, the whole management of process needs water to pray and keep wet. But the field must not seeper when rainy to pledge the growing of stropharia in gear.

Cultivation of stropharia in sand soil of richness, low-acidity, rich of humus and loose is good to fruiting earlier and promotion of production.

The plant location chosen must be preventing of wind, exposed to the sun and partly blocking of shade. Stropharia like the circumstance of half blocking of shade, be sure not to choose the place of low-lying and darkness.

Following the local place to cultivate stropharia or a bit reform, create condition to fill the demand of growing of stropharia, will be given good economic benefit Such as solid growing mushroom in the garden of longan, banana, orange and chestnut or spare field in winter, compound mushroom with fruit or mushroom with forest, utilizing sun source in reason. The fruiter and tree in garden create the entironment of blocking of shade and keep humidity for stropharia, photosynthesis of green plant release oxygen to fulfill the aerobic characteristic of stropharia, Carbon dioxide discharged by stropharia will enhance the photosynthesis of fruiter.

2. Preheaping of Soaking straw

(1) Soaking of straw before building pile the straw must be absorb water enough. Bringing clean water to the slot or pool, dip the straw in he slot or pool, stepping on straw when soaking,time of soaking may be about two days. Different straws have different time of soaking. Soft texture early rice straw has shorter time of soaking, about 36-40 hours,hard texture late rice straw or single-reason rice straw has longer time of soaking, about 48 hours. The main aims of soaking of straw are first letting straw absorb enough of water, second degree the pH of substrate, the third soften straws to let it easy to handle and building the pile more close. The pool soaking straw need change water twice per day. Besides of soaking, pouring also can let straw absorb enough water. The detail operation is put the straw on the ground and spray water 2-3 times per day, and spray it about 6-10 days. If straws have large amount, the straws must be turned several times, making the straws absorbed water enough. Short, scatter straws can be packed in bags or basket to be soaked or sprayed. Soaked or sprayed straws naturally drop water about 12-24 hours,let its humidity keep in 70%-75%. A little wisp of representative straw is chosen to be screwed down with hand, if some water drop seep from straws and water drop is broken show the humidity of straw is in order, if the water drop is not broken means humidity of straw is too high, time of dropping can be prolonged. If no water drop seep from straws after screwed down means the hum

(2) Pre-ferment. Pre-ferment should be done when temperature of day is higher than 25°C,in order to prevent effect to growing of mycelium by high temperature after building pile. Pre-ferment should be done when spawning in the end of summer or the beginning of fall. The detail method is put the straw dipped in water on the flat ground, and build a mow with width of 1.5-2 meters, highness of 1-1.5 meters and no limit in long, the mow must be built very burly, turned after an interval 3 days, after 2-3 days , the mow will be built pile and spawning on the growing field.

3. Composting and spawning

(1) Building pile Procedure before building-pile and spawning are all OK, now we can build pile. It is very important planish straw burly on the bed. The thickness of straw is 20-30 cm, not excess 30 cm. The dry grass is used 20-30 Kg per square meter,the amount of spawning is 600- 700 g. Spraying the farmland wet before building pile, first layer straw is laying 10 cm from the border farmland, thickness is 8-12 cm,and spawning, thickness of the second layer is 10 cm,spawning again. Spawns must be broken off with fingers and thumb into the size of walnut when it is spawning among two layer. The depth of spawning hole is 5-8 cm,the distance among holes is 20 cm,the more hole will let mycelium grow more fast.

(2) After spawning, cover the pile, old sesame bags, cloth, grass shade and old newspaper can be used as cover. Old sesame bags are best, because it’s good of keeping of water.

4. Management of Spawn-running

Control of temperature and humidity is the center point of cultivation. Temperature of compost is asked be 22-28°C in spawn-running, humidity of the compost is 70%-75%,relative humidity of space is 85%-90%. After spawning, according to the fact, the step must be adopt to keep temperature and humidity in order, create a good condition of resume and grow of mycelium.

(1) Adjust of water in bed Straw must absorb water enough before building pile, it is the key to keep enough humidity of bed. Within 20 days after spawning, let no water pray to mushroom bed directly, other time water can be sprayed on the cover, it is good to the mycelium to let no unwanted water flow into the compost. If shortage of water absorbed by straw, the straw in pile will be white, cause the low grow of mycelium. If it meets the high climate, the temperature of pile will ascend distinctness, it is very harm to the spawn.

(2) Adjusting of water in growing of mycelium the phase of growing of mycelium need timing proper spraying. The first 20 days, no or little spraying is need. When the mycelium in bed become more and more, occupy the half of compost, the straws on the surface of bed become dry, it is time to spray. The amounts of spraying are different in different parts of bed, around the bed is being more sprayed, the center of bed is little or not sprayed. The mycelium will be decline by spraying everyday if the humidity of bed is enough.

(3) 1-2 days after building pile, the temperature of pile will a little rise. The temperature of pile is asked to be 20-30°C, 25°C is best to mycelium to grow fast and healthy. After pile building and spawning, the temperature of pile will be checked every morning and afternoon, so as step can be done to prevent the abnormity of pile. When the temperature is below 20°C,the pile will be covered with cover-hay and plastic film in the morning and night, lift the film at sunrise. When the temperature of pile is too high, the reason must be found in time and the corresponding countermeasure is adopt. If the time of dipping in water of straw is too short or straw absorb water asymmetry, the temperature of pile will rise distinctly after 2-3 days of pile -building , maybe access 32°C. If the temperature of pile is too high, but not excess 30°C,we can lift the cover, make 2-3 holes in the center of pile alternation, diameter of hole is 3 cm, the depth of hole is 15-20cm.

In addition, the temperature of pile can be adjusted by different blocking of sun and aeration in the cultivation of stropharia in different season.

5. Casing

30 days after spawning, mycelium almost grow full of compost, casing can be done on the surface of compost. Sometime surface compost maybe too dry to see the mycelium growing on surface compost, you can check the mycelium on the middle and under layer compost by excavating surface compost lightly,if mycelium of border inoculated holes grow closely, it is time for casing. The material time for casing must be made a difference between different seasons and different climates. If composting and spawning in early spring, encountering rainy, casing can be done after mycelium almost growing through the compost. If composting and spawning in fall, climate is dry, casing can be done ahead or casing can be done in twice, first time, a little casing soil can be put on the surface compost when beginning of composting and straw can be seen, second time, casing can be done after mycelium almost growing through the compost. One side, casing on mushroom bed can accelerate fruiting, other side, casing soil can keep heat and humidity. Commonly, mycelium of stropharia in pure culture is difficult to fruiting even if mycelium is bloom or little fruit formed for a long time. But fruit body can be formed quickly after cover appropriate casing soil and feasible temperature and humidity.

(1) Choose of casing soil, the quality of casing soil has great affect to the production of stropharia. Casing material asks to be richness, loosen, capable of absorbing of water, getting rid of CO2 and other gas produced by compost. The humus has protective and frame of granule, suit to be casing soil. Oversea considered that 50% of humus and 50% of turf with pH 5.7 could be the standard casing soil. In the fact of cultivation, almost people use local materials and choose loose garden soil. This soil is loose, keeping more water and rich of humus, Sand soil and clay, or simplex turf with bad frame of granule and keeping little water is not chosen to be casing soil.

(2) Method of casing. Spill the casing soil prepared to the mushroom bed, thickness is 2-4 cm,do not excess 5 cm,per square meter of bed need soil of 0.05 m3. After casing, the humidity of soil must be adjusted,it is asked to be 36%-37%. Simple method to check is nip the soil with hand, if the soil becomes flat but not crashes, or adhibit to hand, it mean water in order.

Water can be sprayed to the bed after casing, fog drop asked to be more fine, so water can wet the casing soil but not to compost. In general , 2-3 days after casing , mycelium can be seen to growing climbing up the casing soil, the main work after casing is adjusting the humidity of casing soil. Prevention from dry by wind, it is best to wet the cover. The amount of spraying is controlled according to the humidity of field and climate. Do not spray alternation one or two days so as the humidity of bed in order. The humidity of inner bed will be not too high, or it will lead the decay of mycelium.

6. Management of fruiting

When the mycelium grow full of casing soil, it turn into the phase of procreate growth. In general, 15 or 20 days after casing, fruiting will begin. The management in this term is key to the cultivation of stropharia, the emphases of main work is keeping the humidity, enhancing the aeration and breath.

The relatively humidity in order is 90%-95% in the phase of fruiting of stropharia. If covered with sesame bags, only dipping bag in water, getting rid of otiose water and covering it on the bed, do it 1-2 times one day. If covered with grass shade, keep humidity with spraying. When lifting the cover, the humidity of casing soil can be check. If soil is dry and white, spraying must be done but not excessive, otherwise excessive water will inflow into the compost and affect fruiting of bed. The other, the humidity of compost must be check, after mycelium growing full of compost, it is in gear that the straw turn into light yellow and the compost is loose and wet, sometime water drop appear when nipping with hand. The humidity is too high when compost appears worn-out or the water drop is not broken after nipping with hand, something must be done to save it in time, or all your previous efforts wasted.

(1) stopping spray, lift the cover,enhance aerating,promote the vaporizing of water in the bed, dry the cover and the casing, when the humidity of compost drop, lightly spray the mushroom bed, stimulate to fruit.

(2) Ditching for drain, try to recede the water table.

(3) The several holes can be made from the bed or sides near the ground, in order to accelerate the circulation of air in the bed. Everyday, lifting the cover and spraying will let bed receive the sunshine; aeration will affect the quality and output of mushroom. When it happens many mushrooms in bed, should be more attention to the aeration. Special the plastic shed, enhance the times of aeration and prolong time of aeration, sometime maybe 1-2 hours. Good aeration will let the mushrooms have short stem and haleness, and more production.

The temperature suit to fruiting of stropharia is 12-25°C, when temperature is low under 4°C or high up to 30°C, fruiting will stop. In the different season, the behave of fruiting of stropharia will be quite different. The time of growing and fruiting of stropharia will be prolonging if spawning in fall or winter, in order to adjust the temperature suit to fruit, time of illumination, time of spraying and aeration can be accommodated.

Be sure do not touch the small mushroom when watering, aerating and picking, special there are many mushroom in bed.

7. Prevention from insect pests

Stropharia has fastness, easy to be cultivated. Serious disease harm to Stropharia seldom happen. Before fruiting, once in a while some sundry fungus can be seen, such as Coprinus, Peziza, Psilocybe and other frivolousness fungus, Coprinus can be often seen among them. In the process of cultivation of stropharia, acarid and springtail, mushroom mosquito, ant, etc., can be often seen. Now mostly methods of prevention and cure stated following:

(1) Straw is asked to be fresh and dry, insolated 2-3 days under burning sun before being cultivated, let sunshine kill insect and spore of other sundry fungus.

(2) Do not cultivate Stropharia in the field with much termite. One field will not be used many years.

(3) In the field outdoor, rat often nest in the pile, destroy the bed, harm the mycelium and bud mushroom. The method is break off the food and trap and kill.

Harvesting

The size of stropharia is bigger than other edible fungi, weight of other single mushroom is 10 grams, but stropharia is 60 grams, the most weight is 2500 g,diameter is 5-40 cm, they will be harvest in time according to the maturity and market. It takes 5-10 days for body from pinhead to mature. In low temperature, the fruit body grows slowly, and fleshy, not easy open veil, the other way round, in high temperature, the fruit body is small and easy open veil. Three flashes will be harvest in the whole cultivation; the first flash has the highest production. 15-25 days between the flashes. In nature condition, from the middle of October to next end of May, it can fruit. But the best season is the last ten-day of October to the first ten-day of December or March to April.

When the gill of fruit body is not broken yet, the pileus like bell shade, it is good to harvest. The last time to harvest is that the gileus involute and the gills turn white. If harvest waiting for it mature, the gill turn violet-gray or dark brown and pileus is flat, the value of commodity is low. The fruit bodies have different quality and taste among different mature; the body of no veil-open is best. Grasp the bottom of fruit body, lightly turn and pull up with pollex, forefinger and middle finger when it is mature. Do not touch the button around. After harvest, the hole must be filled in the bed and the remnant mushroom must be cleaned out to prevent it belt to harm the health mushroom. The mushroom harvest should be cut the bottom with soil.

Process

Domestic process of stropharia is in test. The quality standard and perfect technics flow have not established. The follow methods is consult,

(1) Drying Drying of stropharia is the same as button mushroom and straw mushroom. Or boiling the mushroom and dehydrate in spin-drier, the humidity of mushroom is made to 11%-13%. Stropharia boiled and dried have strong fragrance and good taste. Stropharia also can be baked to dry, baked to 70-80% of dry in low fire in 40°C and heat in 50-60°C until the fruit body is complete dry, packed in plastic food bag when cool, prevent the resurgence of dried mushroom.

(2) Brine Refer to technic of brine mushroom, body of stropharia is big, time of boiling need 8-12 min,let body cooked and no rod. Usually cooked mushroom will go down in cool water; the raw mushroom will go up. Put it in jar with one layer mushroom and one layer salt, put on clog and covered. Brine must immerse the mushroom. The density of salt is 22 Be.

(3) Cannery The experts think that process stropharia with can should consult to technic of button mushroom. The fruit body should be chosen as good quality and mezzo size to process with can.

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