Scaling of Mushrooms
We all know the cause of scales! Too much air movement and/or too dry air. However, the wrong solution is often chosen. This decision is linked to knowledge of the Mollier Diagram. During the first flush, what decision do you make as a mushroom grower? Do you increase or decrease the fan speed to prevent scales during the first flush?
Fan speed
To grow perfect quality mushrooms, creating a stable climate is essential. A stable climate is determined by the fresh air inlet, the cooling and the heating.
Where do dry bubble or cobweb come from?
Look for spores?
Forget it – spores are so small they are invisible to the naked eye. A proven method is swabbing. How?
Energy and yield
Production costs are rising sharply. Faced with the high cost of compost and higher energy costs, how can you produce more mushrooms per ton of compost using less energy? This blog explains one of the options.
Bacterial blotch
Bacteria are present everywhere, all the time – but do not cause bacterial blotch. What does cause bacterial blotch is too many bacteria. A bacterial blotch infection of mushrooms is caused by favourable growth conditions for bacteria. How can you prevent bacterial blotch? By preventing the conditions in which bacteria can grow rapidly. I […]
Does a higher filling weight give better quality?
The filling weight, i.e. the number of kilos of compost per square metre, should be between 80-95 kg/m2. The general trend is the more compost, the better the mushroom quality. But is that right? Mushroom growing is all about the difference between air temperature and compost temperature, referred to by growers as activity. Activity is […]
Dry bubble disease (Verticillium)
Dry bubble disease may cause a lot of problems because the spores spread quickly. It’s essential to identify and remove the first affected mushrooms to prevent an outbreak of the disease throughout your entire nursery. So how do you remove the first infected mushrooms? Spread by spores Dry bubble disease is spread by spores. The […]
Which factors determine the pH value?
My previous blog described what the pH should do during the composting process. This blog examines the role of the raw materials, such as ammonium sulphate, gypsum and water. Ammonium sulphate, (NH4)2SO2 During indoor composting, NH3 is removed from the air by a reaction of the air to sulphuric acid, H2SO4. The by-product resulting from […]
Too much mycelium
On many farms I see lots of problems with quality and particularly production in the second and third flushes. This immediately prompts a close examination of the compost, although the problem has developed at the start of cultivation in the casing soil. Casing soil acts as a water buffer. That is nothing new. But after […]
Watering
A new watering system has been in use for some years now. It is a static system that incorporates pipes and nozzles in the beds. With conventional watering systems, a spray lorry moved along the beds. This blog explains the advantages and disadvantages of the static system. How the static system works The static system […]