GROWING GOURMET - Anto2ni.it

74
THE MUSHROOM LIFE CYCLE
transmitted into the air are carried to new ecological
niches via these predators.
Many mushrooms have alternative, asexual
life cycles.Asexual spores are produced much in
the same manner as mold spores—on microscopic,
tree-like structures called conidiophores.
Or, spores can form imbedded within the mycehal
network. Oidia, chiamydospores, and
coremia are some examples of asexual reproduction.
In culture, these forms appear as
"contaminants," confusing many cultivators.An
excellent example is the Abalone Mushroom,
Pleurotus cystidiosusand allies. (See Figure 57).
The advantage of asexual reproduction is that it
is not as biologically taxing as mushroom formation.
Asexual reproduction disperses spores
under a broader range of conditions than the
rather stringent parameters required for mushroom
formation. In essence, asexualexpressions
represent short-cuts in the mushroom life cycle.
A cultivator's role is to assist the mycelium
as it progresses through the life cycle by favorably
controlling a multitude of variables. The
cultivator seeks maximum mushroom production;
the mycelium's goal is the release of the
maximum number of spores through the formation
of mushrooms. Both join in a biological
partnership. But first, a strain from the wild
must be captured. To do so, the cultivator must
become skilled at sterile technique. And to be
successful at sterile technique requires a basic
understanding of the Vectors of Contamination.
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