Mushroom, Growing Mushroom, Mushroom Receipe,Mushroom care

Diseases of mushrooms

2007-01-06T07:23:00.000-08:00

Diseases of mushrooms

Fungal diseases.
Even though the mushroom itself is a fungus, it can in turn be affected by a range of fungal pathogens, listed below in Table 1.

Table 1. Fungal diseases of mushrooms

Disease	Other names	Symptoms
Dactylium	Cobweb, mildew	White to pink cobweb-like fluffy mould.
Diehlomyces	Calves brains / false truffle	A competing fungus which produces brain-shaped fruiting bodies.
Fusarium	Damping off	Mushrooms wither.
Mycogone	Wet bubble / white mould	Dense white growth on gills.
Papulaspora	Brown plaster mould	Brown plaster-like patches on casing.
Scopulariopsis	White plaster mould	White plaster-like patches on casing.
Trichoderma	Green mould	Dark green mould patches on casing spreading to lesions on stems.
Verticillium	Dry bubble / brown spot	Brown irregular pitted areas on stems and caps. Distortion and splitting.

Bacterial diseases

Pseudomonas (bacterial spot, bacterial or pit or brown blotch), causes yellow to brown blotches on the cap which may exude sticky residues. Early symptoms are similar to verticilium.

Other diseases

A range of viral diseases attack mushrooms. Fruiting bodies that are either noticeably elongated or flattened, or gradually decreasing crops or flushes should be examined. If viral diseases are suspected, professional advice on eradication should be sought.

Management
Maintaining high levels of hygiene will assist any pest management program by reducing the number of problems that are likely to occur. If an outbreak does occur, ensure that the pest or disease is correctly identified before taking any action.

Diseases of mushrooms

Mushroom-Pests and diseases

2007-01-06T07:02:00.000-08:00

Pests and diseases

Mushrooms are the edible fleshy fruiting bodies of certain fungi, which may be gathered wild or grown under cultivation. The most commonly cultivated mushroom species is Agaricus bisporus, although many other species are now gaining recognition in Australia due to the widespread consumption of Asian cuisine. This note describes the pests and diseases of Agaricus species.

Cultivated mushrooms are usually grown in the dark in climate-controlled rooms. The fungal innoculum or "spawn" is added to a pasteurised substrate in growing containers or beds. After the fungal strands (mycelia) have spread through the compost, a layer of peat or soil (the "casing") is added. The fruiting bodies begin appearing about 6 weeks after spawning and continue appearing in flushes about 7-10 days apart for the next 6-8 weeks. The first three flushes are the most productive. The cap and a small section of connected stem are usually harvested before the caps are fully expanded.

Pest management programs, particularly for diseases, are made more difficult by the fact that the mushroom is itself a fungus. Strict adherence to hygiene programs at all stages of production will greatly reduce potential problems.

Invertebrate pests

Arthropods

A variety of small fly and midge species are pests of mushrooms. The larvae feed on the fungal mycelium in the compost, but may also tunnel into the fruiting bodies.

A range of mite species may affect the mushroom crop. Some directly damage the fruiting bodies, some may attack the mycelium and some mites are predatory on other mites, fly eggs, nematodes or bacteria. Mite damage on the fruiting bodies often shows up as small cavities in the stem and cap similar in appearance to bacterial pit disease. Mycelium-eating mites can cause high yield losses. Mites are very small and easily transported on clothing and tools.

Springtails are commonly associated with compost, and can damage the crop if present in high enough numbers. Slaters and millipedes may also cause damage to the fruiting bodies.

Nematodes

Nematodes will cause a loss in yield and brown, watery mushrooms, and in extreme cases a soggy, smelly compost. Peat is a common source for nematodes and should be treated before use.

Mushroom-Pests and diseases

Mushroom Stuffed Burgers

2007-01-06T06:36:00.000-08:00

Mushroom Stuffed Burgers

Do you like mushroom burgers, but don't like having all the mushrooms fall out while you are trying to eat it? Well this burger patty is stuffed with sauteed mushrooms so they stay where they are supposed to.

INGREDIENTS:

* 1 1/2 pounds hamburger
* 1/4 cup finely diced onion
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/8 teaspoon pepper
* 2 tablespoons butter or margarine
* 1/2 pound sliced mushrooms
* 6 slices cheddar cheese

PREPARATION:
Combine the hamburger, onion, salt and pepper. Mix well. Saute mushrooms in butter until slightly browned and softened. Form meat mixture into 12 patties, about a quarter inch thick. Spoon about 1/6 of the mushrooms on to half the patties.

Mushroom Stuffed Burgers

Crab-Stuffed Mushrooms

2006-12-24T01:39:00.001-08:00

Tasty crab stuffed mushrooms with bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese make a great party snack.

INGREDIENTS:

1 pound large mushrooms
6 tablespoons butter
3 green onions, minced
3 to 4 tablespoons minced red bell pepper
4 ounces crab meat
1 cup fresh fine bread crumbs
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon Cajun or Creole seasoning blend
1/8 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese

PREPARATION:

Wash and trim the end of stems from mushrooms. Pop remaining stem out. Chop stems and set aside. Melt 2 tablespoons butter; brush over mushrooms. Spray a shallow baking dish (about 8-inch square, or one which will fit mushrooms in one layer) with butter-flavored spray or grease with butter.

Melt remaining butter in skillet; add reserved chopped stems, minced green onions and red bell pepper.

Good Luck!!!

Chemical properties

2006-12-24T00:26:00.000-08:00

Mushroom in the acandon Jungle.

Ganoderma sp Of central interest with respect to chemical properties of mushrooms is the fact that many species produce secondary metabolites that render them toxic, mind-altering, or even
bioluminescent.

Toxicity likely plays a role in protecting the function of the basidiocarp: the mycelium has expended considerable energy and protoplasmic material to develop a structure to efficiently distribute its spores. One defense against consumption and premature destruction is the evolution of chemicals that render the mushroom inedible, either causing the consumer to regurgitate (see emetics) the meal or avoid consumption altogether (see Mushroom poisoning).

Psilocybin mushrooms possess psychedelic properties. They are commonly known as "magic mushrooms" or "shrooms", and are available in smart shops in many parts of the world (see Psychedelic mushroom). A number of other mushrooms are eaten
for their psychoactive effects, such as fly agaric, which is used for shamanic purposes by tribes in northeast Siberia.

Currently, many species of mushrooms and fungi utilized as folk medicines for thousands of years are under intense study by ethnobotanists and medical researchers. Maitake, shiitake, and reishi are prominent among those being researched for their potential anti-cancer, anti-viral, and/or immunity-enhancement properties.

Laetiporus sulphureus

Psilocybin, originally an extract of certain psychedelic mushrooms, is being studied for its ability to help people suffering from mental disease, such as Obsessive-compulsive disorder. Minute amounts have been reported to stop cluster and migraine headaches. It has also been used in the west to potentiate religious
experience.
Because of their psychoactive properties, some mushrooms have played a role in
native medicine, where they have been used to effect mental and physical healing, and to facilitate visionary states. One such ritual is the Velada ceremony. A representative figure of traditional mushroom use is the shaman, curandera (priest-healer), Maria Sabina.

Some mushrooms have been used as fire starters (known as tinder fungi).

Mushroom

Mushroom structure

2006-12-24T00:25:00.000-08:00

These emerging mushrooms are too immature to safely identify the species
the relative sizes of the cap and the pileus vary widely.
Identifying mushrooms requires a basic understanding of their macroscopic structure. A "typical" mushroom consists of a cap or pileus supported
on a stem or stipe. Both can have a variety of

shapes and be ornamented in various ways. The underside of the cap (in agarics) is fitted with gills or lamellae where the actual spores are produced. How the gills are attached is another important characteristic used in identification. In the boletes, the gills are replaced by small openings called pores. Bracket fungi essentially lack a stipe, and the cap is attached like a bracket to the substratum, usually a log or tree trunk. Some bracket fungi have gills, others have pores.

In general, identification to genus can be accomplished in the field using a local mushroom guide. Identification to species, however, requires more effort; one must remember that a mushroom develops from a young bud into a mature structure and only the latter can provide certain identification of the species. Examination of mature spores, or at least knowing their color, is often essential. To this end, a common method used to assist in identification is the spore print.
Apical germ pore

Apical Germ Pore is a term applied to mushroom spores which have a pore at one end. Some spores have a hole in the cell wall where the first strand of germinating mycelium emerges. If the cell wall is divided from one end to the other, this is called a germ slit. Commonly the germ pore is at one end of the mushroom spore and is called an apical pore.
Mushroom genera with apical germ pores include Agrocybe, Panaeolus, Psilocybe,
and Pholiota.

Mushroom

Mycelium, Hyphae, Fairy ring

2006-08-30T01:09:00.000-07:00

When fungal spores germinate, they develop into microscopical, cylindric, elongated structures with cross walls: the hyphae. In most cases the hyphae join up and form very fine filaments, the mycelium, a kind of felt-like web of varying density. These numerous and diffuse mycelial threads are distributed within the substrate, i.e. soil, organic litter or wood, and are able to extract nutrients and carbohydrates from this substrate.Parasitic and saprophytic fungi are able to digest organic matter externally (just outside the hyphae) and to absorb the released carbohydrates (sugar compounds etc). The mycelia of the symbioticmycorrhiza fungi are highly capable of dissolving and absorbing mineral salts from very poor soils, thus providing the plant (with which it coexists) with essential nutrients. In return the fungus receives the essential organic substances upon which it feeds, i.e. sugar compounds and starch. For this purpose the hyphae are permanently connected with the plant's rootlets through tiny socket-like structures.
Under favourable circumstances little buds appear on the mycelium, from which will grow - like apples on a tree - the sporophores (i.e. mushrooms, toadstools etc) that are able to produce the spores. The mycelia of many species may survive for many years, sometimes even for centuries. One day a huge coherent mycelium of a Honey Fungus (Armillaria lutea) was discovered: it extended over 38 acres, weighed over 100 tons and had an estimated age of ± 1500 years.
If the mycelial web grows outward from a centre in all directions with a more or less constant rate, the above-ground sporophores (mushrooms) will form a so-called fairy ring, its diameter increasing every year. In time the old mycelium dies, again from the centre outward. The oldest known fairy ring is a kilometre wide and ± 700 years old. Very famous are the 300 years old and 100 metres wide fairy rings of the Fairy Ring Toadstool (Marasmius oreades) on the hills surrounding Stonehenge.

Growing mushroom

2006-07-25T02:49:00.000-07:00

Growing mushrooms is a project for the most dedicated gardener who has one foot in the garden and one hand in the kitchen. They require a lot of special care but reward you with deliciousness.

Steps:
1)Set up a growth room for mushroom cultivation. A small plastic tent in which you set up tables and can control humidity and temperature in not necessary but makes cultivation much easier. The temperature should range between 55 and 70 degrees and not vary more than 10 degrees once it has been set. The growing tables should be made of plastic that can be cleaned between crops. The floor, ideally, should be concrete for the same reason.

2)Use a home vaporizer to provide humidity. These devices are portable, electric and work from a reservoir of water. 95% humidity is necessary for mushrooms to develop.

3)Place a small electric fan in the growth room to circulate the air. Unless mushrooms get the necessary air circulation, the chance of fungus disease is increased.

4)Place a fluorescent light a few feet over the growing tables. Indirect sunlight is also an excellent alternative. No direct sun, please.

5)Place clean wheat straw that has been cut into 3 inch pieces into clean cotton pillow cases. Soak the straw-filled pillow cases in hot water.

6)Wipe down work areas and wash all surfaces and equipment with a 10% bleach solution as the straw bags soak.

7)Remove the straw filled bags from the hot water bath and allow to drain in a clean sink for several hours.

8)Remove the damp straw from the pillow cases and transfer to clean, clear plastic bags.

9)Add mushroom spawn (purchased from a reputable supplier) to the straw filled plastic bags. Close the bag and shake vigorously to incorporate the spawn throughout the growing medium.

10)Pack the straw down inside the bags as tightly as possible to create a brick, or block. Once the block has been formed, seal the bag tightly.

11)Puncture the plastic bag 25 - 50 times with a sterilized nail to allow air to penetrate. The nail should be sterilized with the bleach solution between puncturing each individual block.

12)Place the prepared blocks in total darkness, or cover loosely with black garbage bags. The temperature in the growing room should be set at 68 degrees. The fan should be running and the vaporizer activated.

13)Remove the light-inhibiting garbage bags and open the clear plastic bags after two weeks. Reduce the temperature of the bags by placing them on the floor.

14)Carefully remove the clear plastic bags when you begin to see small bumpy growth appear on the blocks. The warts will soon develop into hundreds of button mushrooms! Harvest and enjoy!

Tips:
Mushroom spawn in many varieties can be purchased via the Internet. You also can buy already prepared blocks to eliminate the mess.

After harvest, place the spent blocks into loose plastic bags to rest in a warm (68 degrees), dark location.

A single mushroom block may produce as many as six harvests. Soak the blocks between harvest to keep them producing.

Warnings:
Some varieties wild mushrooms are deadly. Buy spawn only from reputable sources

mushroom

Types of mushrooms

2006-07-13T02:35:00.000-07:00

Types of mushrooms

Mushrooms are often dried in order to preserve them for use in cooking.

The main types of mushrooms are agarics (including the button mushroom, the most common mushroom eaten in the U.S.), boletes, chanterelles, tooth fungi, polypores, puffballs, jelly fungi, coral fungi, bracket fungi, stinkhorns, and cup fungi. Mushrooms and other fungi are studied by mycologists. The "true" mushrooms are classified as Basidiomycota (also known as "club fungi"). A few mushrooms are classified by mycologists as Ascomycota (or "sac fungi"), the morel and truffle being good examples. Thus, the term mushroom is more one of common application to macroscopic fungal fruiting bodies than one having precise taxonomic meaning.

Mushrooms
Edible mushrooms are used extensively in cooking, in many cuisines. Though commonly thought to contain little nutritional value, many varieties of mushrooms are high in fiber and protein, and provide vitamins such as thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, biotin, B₁₂ and ascorbic acid, and minerals including iron, selenium, potassium and phosphorus. However, a number of species of mushrooms are poisonous, and these may resemble edible varieties, although eating them could be fatal. Picking mushrooms in the wild is risky — riskier than gathering edible plants — and a practice not to be undertaken by amateurs. The problem is due to the fact that separating edible from poisonous species is dependent upon the application of only a few easily recognizable traits. People who collect mushrooms for consumption are known as mushroom hunters, and the act of collecting them as such is called mushroom hunting.

production mushroom at home

2006-07-10T22:15:00.000-07:00

Gourmet mushrooms like Shiitake, Oyster & Enoki mushrooms are growing in popularity but the retail price for many of these delicacies can often be out of range for many people. Mushroom lovers on a budget have another option - growing mushrooms at home.

Mushroom production might seem complicated but there are many kits on the market that make growing mushrooms easy. These kits provide the substrate, pre-inoculated with mushroom mycelia and simple instructions.

Mushrooms
When we think of mushrooms, we often think of the soft caps & stems that we see in the grocery store. Hidden underground, however, is the vast majority of the mushroom mass itself- the network of feathery mycelia. These mycelia, often seen when turning over compost, are what the mushroom uses to absorb food & moisture. The cap & stem that we commonly eat is just the fruiting body.

To grow, mycelia require an uncontaminated food source, free from other microorganisms, moisture, and temperatures between 60-80F. The food source can vary, depending on the species of mushroom, from sawdust & shavings to manure or compost. Once mycelia have colonized a food source, they begin to produce fruiting bodies, commonly referred to as pins. As the pins mature, they develop into recognizable mushrooms.

Kits

Most commercially available kits range in price from $20-$30. Most kits will start fruiting within a week and you can expect a harvest of 1-2 pounds of mushrooms per flush. Commonly, each kit will provide 2-3 flushes of mushrooms before the food supply is spent. Finished kits can then be placed on the compost pile where you can sometimes get a bonus flush of edibles.

Mushroom

Mushroom for beginners

2006-07-10T22:07:00.000-07:00

The process of growing mushrooms can be divided roughly into four steps:
1) Acquiring and maintaining a culture of mushroom tissue (called mycelium) of the mushroom strain you want. (A tissue culture is somewhat like a cutting of a plant. Starting with a tissue culture assures that you have a mushroom strain genetically identical to the one you want. Some growers start with spores, which are more like seeds. Spores may or may not give you a mushroom strain with the fruiting properties of the parent. Since spores cannot be grown in the presence of hydrogen peroxide, I always work with a tissue culture of mycelium. Tissue cultures--also called agar cultures or test tube cultures--of various species of mushroom can be purchased from commercial suppliers or they can be started from fresh mushrooms).

2) Using a bit of the tissue culture to begin some spawn (a kind of mushroom starter), which is usually grown on a small quantity of sterilized grain or sawdust.

3) Using the spawn to introduce mushroom mycelium into an organic material (substrate) chosen to support the formation of mushrooms.

4) Getting the actual mushrooms to form and grow once the substrate has been completely colonized by mushroom mycelium.

Starting with a kit
If you buy a mushroom kit, you are generally starting at step four. The commercial mushroom grower has already completed the earlier steps for you, and provided you with the mushroom culture ready to form mushrooms. You provide a proper environment, usually cool and moist. Getting mushrooms to form can be easy or hard, depending on the mushroom strain you are growing. Oyster-style mushrooms of the Pleurotus and Hypsizygus families are among the easiest to fruit. Lions Mane (Hericium erinaceus) is also quite easy. Maitake (Grifola frondosa) and Morels (Morachella species) are among the most difficult to get to form mushrooms. Shiitake (Lentinula edodes) falls somewhere in the middle. Button mushrooms are easy if you can keep the temperature steady around 65 degrees F.

Starting with purchased spawn
It is also possible to start at step three, by purchasing the "starter" (spawn) from a supplier and using that to introduce the growing fungus into an organic material that you have prepared yourself. There are a variety of possible substrates: straw, compost, logs, wood chips, and sawdust are common ones, but people have also used things like newspaper, cardboard, sterilized grain, coffee grounds, etc. depending on the mushroom species they want to grow.

Kinds of mushrooms and the substrates they prefer
In general, there are two broad classes of cultivated mushrooms: those that prefer to grow on compost, and those that prefer to grow on woody material. The common button mushroom and other Agaricus species fall into the first class, growing readily on compost, but they will also grow on straw. Oyster mushrooms, shiitake, reishi, maitake, and Lions Mane, all prefer woody materials such as sawdust, wood chips, or sometimes straw.

Compost
Each organic material requires a different procedure to render it free of competing organisms. Compost is the most time-consuming material to prepare, requiring a couple of weeks to mature. It needs to be allowed to heat to a temperature that neutralizes harmful species, without letting it get so hot that it kills beneficial microbes. The compost is not allowed to go completely through its natural cycle. Instead it is harvested somewhat early, when it is full of white actinomycetes bacteria that provide the nutrients that mushrooms love. The grower cools the compost, adds some gypsum (calcium sulfate) and mixes in the mushroom spawn.

Woody materials
Woody materials and straw can be prepared much more quickly than compost. Traditionally, these materials required a heat treatment, such as pressure sterilization, steam pasteurization, or hot water steeping, to eliminate competing organisms. The peroxide method has now added ways to prepare some substrates without heating. It can also prevent later contamination by airborne molds and bacteria, so using a material that is compatible with hydrogen peroxide addition can save a lot of trouble. For wood-decomposing mushrooms, wood pellet fuel, which disintegrates into sawdust when treated with boiling water, works very well in this regard, and so does wheat straw.

Getting Mushrooms to Form
The compost-loving species require a different procedure from the wood-loving mushrooms when it comes time to get the mushrooms to form. The compost-lovers usually need to have a soil-like layer called "casing," applied to the top of the culture, once the mushroom tissue has fully colonized the compost. The soil-like layer provides a reservoir of moisture, and it creates a low-nutrient zone (compared to the compost), signaling the mushroom tissue to start forming the fruiting bodies. The tiny mushroom buttons then begin to form in the casing layer. The grower keeps the casing moist by lightly watering it as the mushrooms enlarge.

With wood-loving species, the procedure for getting mushrooms to form varies a bit from one species to another, but it usually involves a shift in environmental conditions such as a drop in temperature, an increase in air circulation, and/or an increase in light levels.

The whole nine yards?
Once you have tried growing mushrooms from a kit and from spawn you've purchased, you will have a better idea whether you want to get involved in keeping agar cultures and growing your own spawn. These procedures require somewhat more commitment and attention to detail. Before the invention of the peroxide technique, it was generally only possible to keep agar cultures and grow spawn if you constructed a sterile work space, such as a glove box at the very least. With peroxide, it becomes possible to perform these steps in an ordinary kitchen, and grow the cultures just about anywhere that an appropriate temperature and light level can be provided. You still need to learn some basic "sterile technique"--simple procedures for handling cultures to keep them pure. But you won't need a sterile facility or a spotless house.

Mushroom