Milky mushroom (Calocybe indica) cultivation involves preparing a substrate, inoculating it with spawn, and then managing the environment to promote fruiting. The process includes preparing a suitable substrate, pasteurizing it, inoculating it with spawn, casing it with a suitable soil, and maintaining optimal conditions for growth, including temperature, humidity, and light.
Detailed Steps:
- Substrate Preparation: Choosing the substrate: Milky mushrooms can be grown on a variety of substrates, but paddy straw is a common and readily available option.
- Soaking the substrate: Straw is chopped into small pieces (2-4 cm) and soaked in water for 8-16 hours to saturate it with water.
- Pasteurization: The substrate is then pasteurized using steam or hot water to eliminate harmful microbes.
- Inoculation (Spawning): Introduce the milky mushroom spawn into the prepared substrate. This can be done by layering the spawn within the substrate bags or beds.
- Spawn Run: The inoculated substrate is kept in a clean environment and temperature 30-35°C and humidity 85-90% for about 15-20 days to allow the spawn to colonize the substrate.
- Casing: Applying casing soil: After the spawn runs, a casing layer of sterilized soil is applied on top of the substrate to provide moisture, support, and allow gases to escape.
- Fruiting: Fruit bodies of mushrooms will begin to develop within 3-5 days, and mature within a week.
- Harvesting: Mushrooms are harvested when they reach maturity, typically when they have a 7-8 cm diameter.
- Second and third harvests: After the first harvest, the topsoil can be stirred, and water can be sprayed regularly for a second and third harvest.