2018-02-02
Early in a long shiitake crop, plentiful nutrients and cool weather produce slowly growing mushrooms with large caps, thick flesh, short stems and firm texture. Later, depleted nutrients and warmer conditions produce smaller, thinner, longer-stemmed mushrooms and lower yields. The article describes reducing substrate moisture and ambient humidity to improve late-crop quality.
Procedure:
1. Shorten soaking to keep substrate moisture near 70%, approximately 10% below the conventional level. Drain briefly before covering with film.
2. Once many pins have formed and caps reach about 1.5 cm, remove the film to grow under ambient humidity. Do not spray on rainy days; on sunny days, water once at 5–6 p.m. Harvest at roughly 70–80% maturity.
The article attributes improved quality to slower nutrient transport and a longer period from pinning to harvest under lower substrate moisture, higher temperature and lower humidity, allowing nutrients to accumulate.
Hubei Changyin Edible Fungi Machinery Co., Ltd. supplies bag filling machines, clipping machines, dryers and other mushroom equipment to customers across China, supported by after-sales service.