GROWING GOURMET - Anto2ni.it

Figure 96. Healthy mushroom mycelium running
through cardboard.
lation. This is often referred to as "leap off."
Oyster and Morel strains are renowned for their
quick "leap off" after transfer, evident in as
short as 24 hours. Some strains of mushrooms
show poor recovery. These strains are difficult
to grow commercially unless they are re-invigorated
through strain development andlor media
improvement.
2. Rate of growth Strains differ substantially
in their rate of growth at all stages of the
mushroom growing process. Once the mycehum
recovers from the concussion of
inoculation, the pace of cell divisions quickens.
Actively growing mycelium achieves a mycehal
momentum, which, if properly managed,
can greatly shorten the colonization phase, and
ultimately the production cycle.
The fastest of the species described in this
book has to be the Morels. Their mycelia typically
covers a standard 100 x 15 mm. petri dish
EVALUATING A MUSHROOM STRAIN 119
in 3-5 days at 75° F (24° C.). Oyster strains, under
the same conditions typically take 5-10 days
depending on the size of the transfer and other
factors. All other conditions being the same (i.
e. rate of inoculation, substrate, incubation environment)
strains taking more than 3 weeks to
colonize nutrified agar media, grain, or bulk
substrates are susceptible to contamination.
With many strains, such as Oyster and Shiitake,
a sufficient body of knowledge and experience
has accumulated to allow valid comparisons.
With strains relatively new to mushroom science,
benchmarks must first be established.
3. Quality of the Mycelial Mat Under
ideal conditions, the mycelial mat expands and
thickens with numerous hyphal branches. The
same mycelium under less than perfect conditions,
casts a mycelial mat finer and less dense.
Its "hold" on the substrate is loose. In this case,
the substrate, although fully colonized, falls
apart with ease. In contrast, a mycelium properly
matched with its substrate forms a mat
tenacious in character. The substrate and the
mycelium unify together, requiring considerable
strength to rip the two apart This is
especially true of colonies of Oyster, King
Stropharia and Psilocybe mushrooms.
Some species of mushrooms, by nature, form
weak mycelial mats. This is especially true of
the initially fine mycelium of Morels.Pholiota
nameko, the slimy Nameko mushroom, generates
a mycelium considerably less tenacious
thanLentinula edodes, the Shiitake mushroom,
on the same substrate and at the same rate of inoculation.
Once a cultivator recognizes each
species' capacity for forming a mycelial network,
recognizing what is a"strong" or"weak"
mycelium becomes obvious.
4. Adaptability to single component, formulated
and complex substrates Some strains
are well known for their adaptability to a Va-
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