In hot weather, it is necessary to prevent the culture material from becoming sour during mixing of the mushroom culture material.
Various microorganisms grow rapidly in summer and can easily cause acidification of culture materials. The so-called acidification of the culture medium is the process of microbial fermentation, which leads to a decrease in the nutrients of the culture medium. At the same time, the "toxins" produced by fermentation have an inhibitory effect on the germination of hyphae. The acidified culture material will cause difficulty in the growth of edible fungi mycelium, significantly increase the contamination rate of green mold and other miscellaneous bacteria, and breed a large number of Bacillus cereus, resulting in rotten fungus packs in the later stage. It is therefore recommended that:
1. Choose fresh and mildew-free culture materials, whether it is corn cobs, cottonseed husks and other culture materials. Be sure to check carefully when choosing. It is best to expose them to high temperatures for 3 to 5 days before use.
2. Especially in high-temperature weather, ventilation holes must be drilled during mixing and fermentation, and the pile must be turned over in time. If the temperature in the pile is too high, it will easily become acidified and rot, so the pile height can be appropriately reduced.
3. Appropriately increase the dosage of lime. When choosing lime, the quality must pass the standard and do not use industrial lime. Only when the pH of the culture material is between 7.5 and 8.5 when bagging can the acidification of the culture material be effectively prevented.
4. The water content can be reduced appropriately. Generally, the humidity of culture materials is adjusted to 60%--65% in winter and spring, and should be reduced to 50%--55% in summer.
5. Delay the mixing time. If the weather is extremely hot in summer, you can postpone the time appropriately and wait until the temperature drops before mixing. Not only will the risk of mixing the materials be reduced, but the workers will also avoid the risk of heatstroke.