Contents
Mushroom mold is the most common disease that mushroom growers encounter when breeding champignons and oyster mushrooms. Unfortunately, there are no effective ways to combat the mold of fresh mushrooms, and crop protection lies in the timely implementation of preventive measures. The main types of fungi molds are green, yellow, yellow-green, confetti, carmine, spiderweb and olive. What to do to prevent the appearance of mold on mushrooms during cultivation is described in detail on this page.
Why does green mold appear on mushrooms?
Green mold, as a rule, affects champignons grown in large rooms. The reason why green mold appears on mushrooms is the various types of skae-yutsht, they are quite widespread in nature and appear in the substrate along with the starting materials. They, along with other microorganisms, are also involved in fermentation. This pathogen does not suffer at high temperatures. In this case, the remaining microorganisms die, and this fungus begins to develop even faster, without encountering any obstacles and competitors. The mycelium of this fungus is a thin hyphae that permeates the entire substrate and gives it the smell of a cellar and mold. Mushroom mycelium is not able to develop in such conditions, as it does not find nutrients. He dies very quickly. And the parasitic fungus develops spores. As a result, buds of light green, olive green, black colors appear on the substrate. The fungus spores are filled with green spores. In addition, ammonia in the substrate and the lack of fresh air only stimulate the development of this fungus. If the chicken manure is unevenly mixed in the initial mixture, then this also sometimes causes green mold.
What mushrooms infected with green mold look like is shown in the photo:
Green mold can only be prevented. Why the starting material for substrates should be taken only in the appropriate dosage and correctly composted. The pasteurization process itself must be constantly monitored, avoiding overheating in any case.
It is permissible to shake the substrate affected by the disease again. As a result, you can get a low yield. Before such manipulation, the substrate is usually sprinkled with superphosphate powder.
Brown and yellow mold on oyster mushrooms and champignons
brown mold often affects oyster mushrooms and champignons. Its causative agent is a moldy saprophytic fungus. Mold can appear on the substrate before or after the cover material is applied. At first, the mold is white and fluffy, and then it becomes brown-gray, in the form of a plaque. If you pat it with your hand or water it, then dust rises from the spots. When the mushroom mycelium germinates in the covering material, the mushroom mold disappears.
This disease can only be prevented, there is no cure. As a preventive measure, the cover material should be treated with foundationazole. Also, do not compost on the ground.
yellow mold also often affects champignons. It is caused by the parasitic fungus Myceliophtora lutea; this pathogen is one of the most dangerous for champignons. Such a fungus can be found in nature – it parasitizes on the wild-growing mycelium of various fungi. And in the substrate, it develops only if there is champignon mycelium in the same place. A whitish mycelium appears on the border between the cover material and the substrate. After that, spores are formed and the affected areas become yellow. The substrate itself begins to smell like copper oxide, or carbide. The spores of the fungus are quite resistant to high temperatures, they do not die during pasteurization and can be carried with soil, contaminated substrate, through people’s hands and tools.
For preventive purposes, it is necessary to strictly observe sanitary requirements, properly compost. If the substrate is infected, then everything around the mushroom should be sprayed weekly with a 4% formalin solution. And after each interruption, it is required to spray the collars with a 1% solution of copper sulphate. The infected substrate is also treated with a 1% solution of copper sulphate and only then taken to a landfill. This substrate cannot be used as an organic fertilizer. All production areas must be steamed at 12 °C for 72 hours after each crop rotation.
What to do if confetti mold appears on mushrooms
yellow mold confetti – This is a different disease, different from the usual yellow mold. It is caused by another type of parasitic fungus. Whitish mycelium is formed in the substrate in the form of scattered spots. They turn yellow a little later and become yellow-brown. Mushroom tissue can even form in the middle.
Developing simultaneously with mushroom mycelium, this parasite gradually begins to dominate over it. The spots can be clearly seen through the bag. It is even easy to check them by pouring the substrate out of the bag onto paper and dividing it into horizontal layers. The mold is usually a different color than that of mushroom mycelium – it is always grayish-silver. Developing, the disease has a depressing effect on the fruiting of mushrooms. It first slows down, then finally stops.
The greatest development of mold occurs on the 50-60th day after sowing the mycelium. Therefore, the later fruiting occurs in the champignon plant, the greater the losses will be.
The spores of this moldy parasitic fungus die at temperatures of 60 ° C and above. More often, the disease spreads through the substrate, sometimes it can also be found on the soil. The infection can get into the substrate when it is unloaded from the chamber. Spores are brought by the wind along with dust from neighboring champignons or from a spent substrate. Soil material can also become infected. Spores are carried along with clothes and shoes, with tools, ticks, mice, mushroom flies, etc.
To prevent infection, it is necessary to comply with sanitary requirements both in the champignon plant itself and in the territory adjacent to it. Composting must not be carried out on an earthen floor. The substrate must be properly pasteurized for 12 hours at 60 °C. It is preferable to use bags made of polymer film, which will reduce the risk of infection spreading when laying mushrooms. In addition, all measures should be strictly followed (preparation of the breeding substrate, rapid germination of the mycelium, mixing it with the pasteurized substrate, etc.) that accelerate the growth of the mycelium and fruit formation. This will help reduce the risk of crop loss.
If the mushrooms are nevertheless covered with mold, then the trimmings of the legs and the cover material adhering to them should not be scattered. They must be collected in bags of polymer film and folded into a pit specially prepared for this. These wastes must be watered every day with a solution of copper sulfate. The hole needs to be covered with earth. The entire room in which the champignon is packed must be washed and disinfected every day with a solution of copper sulfate. All ventilation openings must be covered with nets. Before and after working in a mushroom, you should wash all working tools, wash work clothes, wash and disinfect shoes with a solution of copper sulfate, and wash your hands with soap and water.
The main measures to combat mold fungi are preventive. First of all, it is necessary to remove all sources of infection at all stages of growing mushrooms.
To prevent mold from appearing on the mushrooms, the entire area in the champignon must be sprayed once a week with a 1% solution of copper sulphate. The used substrate must be treated with a solution of copper sulphate before removing it from the mushroom. It can be used as an organic fertilizer only where there are no mushrooms. Production facilities should also be steamed along with the substrate.
yellow green mushroom mold
yellow-green mold the substrate in champignons is affected quite often. Mushrooms become weak, gray in color; the mycelium gradually dies off. In its place, moldy mushrooms with yellow-green spores and whitish mycelium are formed. It has a characteristic musty smell and feels viscous. This disease is caused by several different molds. They are able to develop simultaneously, and it is quite difficult to isolate them. This type of mold is common in nature. It enters the substrate along with the starting materials and, along with other microorganisms, participates in composting. Yellow-green mold begins to develop at a temperature of 45 ° C. It dies completely with good pasteurization. If the pasteurization is done in bad faith, and the substrate itself is of poor quality, then the mold quickly infects the mushroom mycelium in the early stages of development. The infection is able to penetrate into a high-quality substrate. Sources of infection can be contaminated waste substrate, which was scattered near the champignons and the composting site, wind and dust, shoes, tools. It’s too late to think about what to do when the mushrooms are already moldy. If the infection is introduced at a relatively late time, when the mycelium is fully formed and fruit formation has begun, then the risk of crop loss is slightly reduced.
To prevent this disease, you must always follow all the rules of hygiene at the compost site. Do not use long-stored bird droppings. Composting should be carried out adhering to all requirements and placed in the pile zone. The substrate must always be subjected to heat treatment. In addition, it needs to be moistened immediately after removing the mushroom from it. On windy days, it is undesirable to clean it. The spent substrate must be taken out in plastic bags. Wash mushrooms regularly and disinfect with fungicides.
Other types of mold fungi
carmine mold caused by the fungus Sporendomena purpurescens Bon. It appears during fruiting in the form of white puffs or a cover of mycelium between lumps of integumentary material. The mycelium of this mold develops very quickly and covers the entire layer of the integumentary material. Does not absorb water when watering. In champignon, fruiting first decreases, then stops altogether. The mycelium of the mold turns yellow, later becomes cherry red and sporulation begins. This fungus is very fond of nitrogen and develops in a substrate rich in it. If the temperature of the substrate becomes 10–18 °C, then the growth of the mold fungus increases, while the development of the cultivated fungus, on the contrary, slows down.
To prevent this disease, a substrate supersaturated with nitrogen and waterlogged should be avoided. Nitrogen fertilizers must be applied very carefully. During the heat treatment of the substrate, there must certainly be an influx of fresh air. Ammonia must be completely released. The temperature of the substrate must also always be optimal for the cultivated fungus.
Spider web and olive mold – the most common diseases of oyster mushrooms. They appear on the substrate and inhibit the growth of mycelium and fruit formation. The easiest and most effective way to combat these diseases is salt. It is usually sprinkled on infected areas. Salt prevents the disease from spreading further.