Professor. Giuseppe Lanzi

In the cultivation of mushrooms we distinguish two important moments of operation: preparation of substrates cultivation and production of mushrooms.
Companies that implement both of these operating times are described as "mushroom closed-loop" and are usually of significant size and occupy tens (and hundreds) of employees. The plant for the preparation of the substrate is in fact very sophisticated and expensive and requires, for ammortizzarlo, continuous use and maximum production capacity of its structures and, what this would not be possible to implement on a mushroom beds of small dimensions.
And 'why in Italy, as indeed throughout Europe, it has become increasingly differentiating the activities of preparation of the substrate from the production of mushrooms. I'm so lots of companies that specialize only in preparation for growing media, commonly called "slabs", which serve both mushroom growing medium-sized family-run and that can survive and produce cost-effectively thanks to the "Platee".
Due to space these pages are dedicated to those who want to start mushroom cultivation medium sized and small: those who want to make mushroom beds closed loop can then contact us for more specific information.

CULTIVATION field mushrooms

And 'common conviction that the basis for the cultivation of field mushrooms is the only horse manure.
This material, while still responding to the needs very well yet, for economic reasons and availability has been almost completely replaced by what is improperly called "synthetic substrate." The latter is obtained by mixing and processing of raw materials very common and easy to obtain essentially as wheat straw, the droppings, the agricultural gypsum and water.
To date, these mixtures is that any horse manure is processed and stir outside, with special machines and equipment, to an audience of cement fermentarle properly and make it a particularly suitable substrate for mushroom growing.
In reality today with the leaders in the industry where the environment is strongly felt, for some years has developed a revolutionary new method of preparation of the compound in a closed environment is likely to prevent the pollution of air, both of maximum security culture as all the production processes are standardized and controlled by computers, called "indoor composting".
But whatever the method of processing raw materials, fermentation free or technically called "phase 1" to the end, the compound is not only attractive to our fungi but also to all the pathogenic microflora and competitive.
And to eliminate precisely this pathogenic microflora and competitive the compound fermented is subjected to a series of thermal shock call phase 2 or pasteurization.
After pasteurization, and thus eliminated all the competitors, the mixture is inoculated (stage improperly but commonly called seed) with the mycelium (improperly called the seed) of our mushroom.
And so ends the preparation of growing medium that is made in the stalls.

Once the seed is packed in the compound blocks covered with a plastic film and transported to the mushroom grower's that system of cultivation in the rooms.
Here the substrate, arranged in cultivation beds with several floors, is maintained at a temperature of 25 ° C for about 13-14 days.
During this period by small clusters of spawn (seed) new branch hyphae (mycelial strands that farmers improperly called roots or molds) going to invade all the mass, which will tend to change as odor and color from dark brown to reddish clear and will change as well odor rising from the repellent compound fermented to that pleasant flavor of mushroom: this phase is called the incubation phase or 3.
The incubation took place means that mycelium of our fungus has completely invaded the substrate, and it can be seen conspicuously from the change of color is that of odor, as this is the result of his index: this is synonymous with production potential.
At this point, the compound is smoothed, pressed and coated with a special compost called "casing soil".
For another 10 days, the substrate is maintained at a temperature of 25 ° C so that even the land cover can be incubated, that is invaded by mycelium: and it is the incubation of the earth that marks the transition from vegetative to reproductive.
E ', therefore the time to create the ideal environmental conditions in the leakage of the carpophores, namely the edible part are all familiar with the name of the fungus.
For this purpose, the room temperature is lowered to because in the substrate is not reached and maintained a temperature of 16-18 ° C and, at the same time, we start from the ventilation with external air in order to eliminate the high rate of carbon dioxide produced in the incubation phase. It is the long awaited day finally arrives from fungicoltore: the growing beds occur suddenly covered with many small white dots, in a few days, swell the surface and whitening .... growing like mushrooms.

We finally arrived at the first harvest, and are approximately the 36th day after sowing. This birth is then repeated about every 8 days to 4-5 overall collections. The entire crop cycle covers a period of 10 weeks.
CULTIVATION Pleurotus

Even for Pleurotus cultivation distinguish two important moments: the substrate preparation and cultivation of mushroom production.
The raw materials for the preparation of the substrate are simply good wheat straw and water which are ground, well mixed and processed then pasteurized, and then inoculated (seeded).
After seeding the substrate is packaged in blocks lined with plastic film and transported to the greenhouses of the mushroom-grower who prepares it for incubation.
Here the substrate, placed directly on the floor, is maintained at a temperature of 28 ° C for about 13-14 days.
During this period, as we have seen for the field mushrooms, from small clusters of spawn (seed) branching hyphae that are new to invade completely the mass, which will tend to become white and compact, passing from the unpleasant odor of fermented compound that pleasant and delicate mushroom: Pleurotus is that even for the incubation.
As already for the field mushrooms also for the successful Pleurotus incubation means productive potentiality. E ', therefore the time to create the ideal environmental conditions in the leakage of the carpophores, namely the edible part are all familiar with the name of the fungus.
For this purpose, the room temperature is lowered to because in the substrate is not reached and maintained a temperature of 14-16 ° C and, at the same time, we start from the ventilation with external air.
And here is the long awaited day finally arrives from fungicoltore: the holes in the plastic film that covers the substrate blocks are starting to leak out and blossom like the flower heads of Pleurotus!
We finally arrived at the first harvest and we are approximately between 30-45th day of sowing.
This birth will be repeated again for 3-5 collected overall.
The entire crop cycle covers a period of about 100 days.

THE CHOICE OF MUSHROOM

The two fungi are the most widely cultivated in Italy and the field mushrooms Pleurotus.A level of the field mushrooms marketing offers a greater production is on the weight of the substrate that the unit of time and, very importantly, a more regular trend of the market and less risky of Pleurotus: it requires less expensive equipment, a crop easier, less labor-intensive but also, however, a shorter growing season (autumn-winter) and a longer growing cycle. Although field mushrooms Pleurotus mushrooms and wider interest, however one must not forget that emerging crops in recent years are reaching volumes far from negligible. These fungi are the new king oyster mushroom or fennel, the pioppino, the shii-take, mushrooms and love of gold.
THE LOCAL CULTURE

Contrary to what too often is the local recovery (stables, cellars, barns, etc..) Are almost never appropriate unless it is large homogeneous surfaces (1,500 square meters).
The modern mushroom is in fact based on the mechanization of the crop and this can not be mechanized if achieved in heterogeneous environments.
The unit is the most popular crop today-greenhouse cultivation of mushrooms: do not let the name fool you, however, since modern greenhouses, mushroom-are highly sophisticated and have nothing more to do with primordial tunnels in which they began the cultivation of Pleurotus twenty-five years ago!
For a single or multiple arcs, the greenhouses have a mushroom-cover interspersed with double layer of fiberglass wool or sprayed with a single slab and polyurethane.
The air conditioning and humidification is controlled by computer and those intended for field mushrooms, may also have summer conditioning.
The greenhouses-mushroom farms for field mushrooms are also equipped with "read" to 3 or 5 floors of cultivation arranged for the mechanized loading and unloading of the substrate of culture as well as for the eventual cutting and mechanical harvesting of mushrooms.

UNIT 'FOR CULTURE AND CAPACITY' PRODUCTION

Goes' without saying that for a mechanized cultivation of mushroom field mushrooms greenhouses-8 must be at least want to ensure a constant daily production, well you want to depreciate the equipment common or centralized.
With 8-10 greenhouses-cultivation of mushrooms such as those described each of m. 8 x 30 and about three rows of beds on 5 floors of cultivation can be expected to regularly producing about 15 qt. per day.
This is not a fungus Pleurotus easily programmable anyway, get a daily production fairly constant at around 10 qt. needed between 10 and 14 greenhouses-mushroom farm.
Production is seasonal and is still 'early autumn spring with vintage variations as a function of the different Italian regions.
WHO TO CONTACT FOR STARTING A GROWING

It 's understandable that the information given so far are so important and fundamental to begin to know and understand the industry but are both still insufficient for a login seriously and properly.
It can happen, for example, by directly contacting manufacturers of greenhouses and mushroom-producing equipment or made these are taken further to highlight the costs of their products and gross revenues that a comprehensive economic plan, and this in complete good faith as may only be aware of these values ​​of their direct interest and not the realities that will face their client!
That 's why we recommend you contact a professional firm specializing in serious and that nothing has to sell the experience!
Together you can design the company for you most interesting in the context of a serious study of your reality and your needs.
For more information you can still contact Mara Mushrooms ( www.funghimara.it ), whose technicians are available both to respond first to the simplest questions and provide preliminary information for free, or if you wish, and then direct you to a study professional field who can advise and assist you should you wish to become fungicoltori.
You can read this article online on the website of the company Mushrooms Mara www.funghimara.it

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