Button Mushroom Cultivation Technology（1）

Cultivating button mushrooms using corn cobs as the main substrate offers several advantages. It provides easy access to materials, reduces costs, and addresses the problem of disposing and storing corn cobs.

Modern air-conditioned greenhouse facilities are used to create optimal growing conditions for button mushrooms. These facilities allow for precise control of temperature and humidity, making year-round production possible.

A tiered cultivation system is typically employed, utilizing a steel frame structure. The bed frame consists of five layers, with the first layer positioned 25 cm above the ground. The distance between each layer is 50-55 cm, the bed width is 95-110 cm, and the spacing between beds is 75-85 cm.

Generally, to produce 100㎡ of culture medium, 2200kg of corn cobs, 1980kg of dry cow dung, 20kg of urea, 40kg of gypsum, 80kg of superphosphate and 40kg of lime are needed.

Before the substrate is placed on the shelves in the mushroom house, it must undergo a fermentation process. This not only achieves high-temperature sterilization but also promotes the growth of actinomycetes, which break down the large molecular substances in the substrate into smaller molecules that can be absorbed by the button mushrooms. There are three main steps in the fermentation process:

1. Pre-wetting
Fresh, mold-free corn cobs are crushed to a size of 12-60 mm and then soaked in 1% lime water for thorough pre-wetting. Dried cow manure is crushed and sieved, then mixed with water to achieve a moisture content of around 65%. The pre-wetted cow manure should be free of clumps or solid masses. The pre-wetting process takes 1-2 days.

2. Composting
Build a pile of 20m long and 1.8m wide. Spread 30cm thick pre-wetted corn cobs on the bottom layer, and alternately spread pre-wetted cow dung 3-5cm thick. Each subsequent layer is about 25cm high, up to 8 layers. From the third layer onwards, evenly add water and about 1/6 of the weight of urea per layer, and add each layer in turn. Cover the top layer with pre-wetted cow dung. The pile should be in the shape of a turtle’s back, with a small amount of water flowing out as the standard.

3. Turning the pile
When turning the pile, attention should be paid to the relative adjustment of the top, bottom, inside, outside, raw materials and cooked materials, and the dry and wet mixtures should be evenly mixed. Various auxiliary raw materials should be added evenly in sequence. Turning the pile should be done 3 times in total. After the materials have been piled for 3 to 5 days and the material temperature reaches 65℃ to 70℃, the first turning of the pile should be carried out. Ventilation holes are set every 1m in the middle of the pile. When turning the pile, sufficient water should be poured and the required ammonium sulfate and superphosphate should be added in layers. 1 to 2 days after the first turning of the pile, the pile temperature reaches 65℃ to 75℃, and the pile should be turned again after 3 days. Ventilation holes are made every 1m on the top and sides of the pile with a 6 to 8cm diameter wooden stick. When turning the pile, gypsum is added and sprinkled on the raw materials in layers, which is conducive to uniform fermentation. In principle, no water is added during this turning of the pile, and a small amount of water is added to the drier places. 2 to 3 days after the second turning of the pile, the third turning of the pile should be carried out. Ventilation holes are set every 1m in the middle of the pile, and lime and superphosphate are mixed evenly and sprinkled on the culture medium in layers. During the entire composting process, the moisture content of the pile should follow the principle of wet at the beginning, dry in the middle and adjusted at the end.

Throughout the fermentation process, the moisture level of the heap should be maintained at appropriate levels: slightly wet during the initial stage, moderately dry during the middle stage, and adjusted as needed during the final stage.

After fermentation, the substrate should have a moisture content of 69%-71%, a pH of 8-9, a coffee-brown color, a resilient texture, and be loose and evenly moist.