OYSTER MUSHROOM - CROPPING, HARVESTING & PACKAGE
The fully spawn run beds should be transferred to cropping room in the thatches shed, where the diffused light and good ventilation are necessary for the button development.
There are different methods to handle the spawn run bed to initiate button development. They are
- Open bed method, wherein the polythene cover is completely removed and
allowed for cropping.
- Closed bed method, wherein the polythene cover is intact and buttons will come out through the holes made on the cover.
- Half cover open method, wherein the one half of the polythene cover is removed for
- cropping and second half after first harvest.
- Stripe method, wherein the polythene cover as longitudinal strips of 5-cm breadth at 4-5 places in the bed.
- Tear method, wherein the polythene cover is teared longitudinally at several places.
- Round opening method, wherein the round shaped openings of 5 cm diameter are made at random.
However, among all the methods of opening of beds, complete removal of the polythene cover is found to give more yields than others. The steps followed in full opening of bed are described below
Procedure:
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Use a new blade and cut the polythene covers and remove fully.
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Allow the bed to dry for a day, as freshly opened beds contain more moisture.
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Spray water on the beds from second day of opening using an atomizer.
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Observe the beds regularly, if any bed showing contamination should be removed.
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Two to three days after opening pinheads of mushroom button develop which will
be ready for harvest with in another 4 days
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Harvest the entire bunch of mushroom gently in the early hours of morning.
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Remove the straw bits adheres to the mushroom and cut off the bottom portion of
the stalk.
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Pack neatly in a polythene cover @ 200 g per bag and put a few ventilation holes.
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Keep them in an icebox and send to sales unit immediately.
(The freshly harvested and packed mushrooms can be kept in a refrigerator, if
mushroom to be sold next day)
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After harvest, scrap out the mushroom bed with a new comb to remove dried and
rotten buds of mushroom.
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Spray the beds daily, based on the conditions of the beds two to three sprays may
be needed.( Second harvest can be done 7-10 days after the first harvest)
-
After second harvest, scrap out the outer layers as above and spray water
regularly. (Third harvest can be had after a week or ten days).
-
Dispose the beds after third harvest as it is uneconomical to keep the beds
further.
Precautions to be observed
- Always maintain the optimum temperature of 23-25° C
- and relative humidity of 80-85% inside the shed.
- Never pour water on the beds, which leads to complete rotting of young developing buds.
- Spray water on the beds only after harvesting the mushroom.
- Always harvest the mushroom in the morning and pack them immediately.
If the closed bed system or other partial opening methods is followed, it is better to wet the sand layer frequently to maintain the temperature and relative humidity.
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