High-yield cultivation technology of Morchella

After years of promotion and practice, the cultivation technology of morels has made remarkable progress in our country. Whether in the humid southern region or in the cold and dry northern region, many growers have mastered the cultivation techniques of morels. With the continuous innovation of technology, the production of morels is also steadily increasing. However, it is still a bit difficult to achieve high yield. Let’s learn some high-yield cultivation techniques of morels below.

1. Planting time and growing environment

The sowing of morels is usually arranged between October and December each year. This fungus can grow in temperatures ranging from 3°C to 25°C, with 15°C to 18°C ​​being the optimal temperature for its growth. Once the temperature drops below 3°C or exceeds 25°C, the growth of mycelium will be inhibited or even die. When sowing, 200 kg of fungus seeds are needed per acre of land, and it is necessary to ensure that the fungus seeds are evenly and accurately spread on the culture medium. After sowing, the soil should be covered immediately with a thickness of about 3 to 5 cm. After covering the soil, irrigation can be carried out. In order to promote the growth of mycelium, the relative moisture content of the soil needs to be maintained between 50% and 70%.

The mycelium growth stage of morels needs to take place in a dark and humid environment, while the development of fruiting bodies requires weaker light and appropriate humidity. Excessive light or insufficient humidity will have an adverse effect on the growth of mycelium and fruiting bodies. Therefore, growers need to build artificial shading facilities to provide a suitable growing environment. The design of the sunshade can be a flat structure or an arched structure to meet the light and humidity requirements of the morel growth.

2. Construction of flat shed

Roof design: The roof of a flat shed is flat, which makes the space inside the shed spacious and easy to operate.

Construction steps: First, use a drilling machine to drill a hole every 3 to 5 meters on the ground. The depth of the hole should be 0.5 meters. Next, insert 2.5-meter-long bamboo poles into the holes, making sure that the bamboo poles are about 2 meters above the ground and are arranged neatly in a straight line horizontally and vertically.

Fix the bamboo poles: In order to ensure the stability of the flat shed, the soil at the bottom of the bamboo poles needs to be compacted with a hammer. Connection structure: There are small holes perpendicular to each other at the top of the bamboo poles, and the horizontal and vertical bamboo poles are connected by supporting film lines to form an overall trellis structure. Laying of sunshade net: Choose a sunshade net with a shading rate of 75%. When laying, make sure the sunshade net is fully unfolded and straightened, and use plastic tie to fix it to the film support line. During the operation, pay attention to controlling the force to avoid damaging the sunshade net. The advantages of flat sheds include low cost, good air circulation, and convenience for field operations. However, it also has some limitations, such as being only applicable to large areas with flat terrain, and the shading effect may not be ideal.

3. Arch Shed Construction

Material selection: The construction of the arch shed mainly uses door-shaped steel pipes, which are usually 3 meters long and 8 mm in diameter.

Frame construction: Bend the steel pipe into a door-shaped structure with a top length of 1 meter and 1 meter on each side. A gate-shaped steel pipe is inserted every 2 meters to form the basic skeleton of the arch shed.

Fix the frame: The steel pipe needs to be inserted into the soil about 0.3 meters deep to ensure the stability of the arch.

Connection structure: Use membrane lines to connect each door-shaped steel pipe to form a coherent support system.

Laying of sunshade net: Same as flat shed, use sunshade net with shading rate of 75% to cover the whole arch shed.

Irrigation system: In areas without sprinkler irrigation, you need to ensure that there is an adequate water source to irrigate the morel beds through water pipes.

Winter Management: Once sowing is complete, the morel spawn will enter the winter. During this period, the main management task is to monitor the moisture of the soil in the greenhouse. If the weather is dry, water at least once a week. As long as the temperature remains above 3 degrees Celsius in winter, the mycelium of morels will gradually develop in the soil.

Spring management: As the temperature rises in February of the following year, the development of morel mycelium will accelerate. March is the beginning of the fruiting period, when the mycelium will develop into the fruiting bodies of morels and enter the management stage of the fruiting period.

4. Management during the fruiting period

Temperature management: The temperature difference between day and night in spring is conducive to the growth of fruiting bodies. The suitable temperature and sufficient precipitation in early spring provide ideal growing conditions for morels. The suitable temperature range for the growth of morel fruiting bodies is 10℃ to 18℃, and the optimal growth temperature is 12℃ to 15℃. When the temperature is below 10℃ or above 18℃, the growth rate will slow down. Due to the good air circulation in the flat greenhouse, the fruiting bodies of the morels emerge faster.

Light management: Light promotes the formation and development of fruiting bodies. During the fruiting body growth period, moderate diffuse light is the key to producing high-quality morels. The fruiting bodies of morels are phototropic and grow towards the light source. The intensity of scattered light will also affect the color of the fruiting body. The color will be darker under strong light and lighter under weak light. The light intensity during the mushroom growing period should be controlled at a moderate level, that is, three parts sun and seven parts shade.

Humidity control: The relative moisture content of the soil should be maintained at 50% to 70% during the fruiting stage to ensure the normal growth of morels. Two humidity limits should be paid attention to in management: the relative humidity of the air should not be lower than 70% to prevent the fruiting bodies from drying out and cracking; it should not exceed 90% to avoid hypoxia of the fruiting bodies. When spraying water, you should spray it in small amounts and multiple times to keep the environment moist.

Field management: Whether it is a flat shed or an arch shed, the focus of field management is the control of light and humidity. The seedbed should not be weeded or loosened, because morels can coexist with weeds, and weeding may damage the mycelium and affect growth. Weeds can also provide shade for the fruiting bodies. Loosening the soil may also damage the mycelium and affect mushroom production.

5. Harvest

When the cap of the morel fruiting body is fully expanded and typical tripe-shaped pits appear on the surface, it can be harvested. Since the growth of morel fruiting bodies is irregular, they should be picked as they grow to ensure freshness. Be careful when harvesting to avoid damaging the growing fruiting bodies. Use a small bamboo stick to insert into the soil and pry it up gently. Once the morels are loose, they can be harvested. This method can reduce damage to the fruiting bodies and the soil.

The above is an introduction to the key points of high-yield cultivation techniques of morels. Friends who want to cultivate morels are advised to master the cultivation techniques first before considering it.