GROWING GOURMET - Anto2ni.it

onments typically ensue until the primordia
have firmly set.
In North America, tray culture for Oyster
mushrooms was perfected by Davel Brooke-
Webster (1987). This method utilizes a
perforated plastic covering over the surface of
trays. Since many Button mushroom farms are
centered around tray technology, the replacement
of the casing layer with a sheet of
perforated plastic allows the cultivation of both
species at the same facility. Holes (1-2 inches
dia. ) are punched evenly through a 8 ft. roll of
plastic, before application. The plastic sheeting
is stretched over the trays, directly after inoculation
of Oyster spawn into pasteurized wheat
straw. The plastic barrier prevents 98% of the
evaporation that would otherwise occur had the
inoculated straw remained exposed. Even with
the plastic covering, humidity within the growing
room should remain relatively high so that
the straw exposed to the air directly below the
CROPPING CONTAINERS 193
holes does not "pan" or die back. A sure sign
that the growing room humidity is too low is
when brown zones of dry straw form around
each puncture site while the remainder of the
substrate is white with mycelium.
An advantage of the Brooke-Webster technique
is that: bouquets of equal weight are
produced simultaneously on the same trays
so widely used by the Button mushroom
(Agaricus brunnescens) industry. A disadvantage
of tray culture is that equal exposure of
light over the surface of each tray, when tightly
stacked upon one another, is difficult. (When
providing light to tightly packed trays, the fixtures
are usually mounted on the underside of
the tray immediately above the fruiting surface.
Most cultivators remove the heat-generating
ballasts to a remote location and re-capture the
heat into their air circulation system. ) When
lighting is insufficient in Oyster mushroom
cultivation, stems elongate while caps remain
Figure 153. Dutch-made, rust resistant, metal trays used for the cultivation of the Bufton mushroom.
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