This manual provides essential information on how to grow mushrooms and gives details for the three most cultivated mushrooms: Button mushroom, Oyster mushroom and Shiitake. Furthermore, cultivation practices for ten other mushrooms are explained, as well as marketing aspects, feasibility studies, mechanisation, climate control, farm management, pests and diseases and post harvest handling. High tech cultivation of White button mushrooms receives much attention. Mushroom Cultivation IV consists of the complete 2003 third edition, updated with new chapters on Biological control of pests and diseases, Circular economy (separation and recyling casing soil, upcycling waste), Liquid spawn, Innovations in energy saving and sustainable energy production, Understanding the Mollier diagram, Supplementation in Agaricus cultivation and Combining greenhouses and mushroom cultivation. Two new appendices have been added: Quality control of compost with NIR and a list of suppliers to the industry.
"This book will absolutely overhaul your understanding of mushroom farming. The insights you'll be able to find within the book are applicable on commercial and hobbyist levels of cultivation. I cannot recommend this book more highly to cultivators looking for a really solid and extensive look at mushroom cultivation. If you're looking to make this into a profession I highly suggest that this book makes it into your study. I know of no other book that goes into such detail on the subject. Extremely pleased and appreciative." - Jordan Hutchison -
Content:
- Benefits of mushrooms
- General biological information on mushrooms
- Substrate characteristics
- Technical data of mushroom species: an overview
- Spawn, breeding and conservation of strains in general
- Environmental care and certifi cation schemes
- Circular economy and mushroom cultivation
- Combining greenhouses and mushroom cultivation
- Feasibility: cost and returns
- Mushroom markets and marketing
- Organisation: extension and research
- Practical aspects of spawn production
- Liquid spawn
- Climate control in general
- Understanding the Mollier diagram
- Simple mushroom farms
- Advanced mushroom farms and tunnels
- Modern climate control installations
- Innovations in energy saving and sustainable energy production
- Cultivation on fermented substrates in general
- Casing soil
- The indoor composting process for Agaricus cultivation
- Agaricus-cultivation: from spawn run to harvest
- Supplementation in Agaricus cultivation
- Mechanisation in Agaricus cultivation
- Cultivation on pasteurised substrates
- Cultivation on sterilised substrates
- Lentinula edodes (Shiitake) cultivation on sterilised substrates
- Cultivation on wood logs
- The collection and ‘cultivation’ of ectomycorrhizal mushrooms
- Post-harvest handling
- Pests and diseases
- Biological control of pests and diseases
- Safe use of pesticides
- Conservation of strains and culture collections
- Spore allergies
- Maintenance chart
- Temitomyces: a common genus in Africa and South-East Asia
- Suppliers
- Chemical analysis for mushroom cultivation
- Quality control of compost with NIR
- Annotated bibliography
- Management and motivation
