Recommendations for Emergency Response to Extreme Rainstorms in Edible Mushroom Production

1. Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Techniques

Preventive Measures (If your area has already been affected by a storm, skip this section):

1. Monitor weather updates closely and prepare essential supplies such as drinking water, food, medicines, and daily necessities to ensure personal and property safety.
2. Before the storm arrives, inspect and reinforce mushroom sheds, clear surrounding drainage ditches, and ensure smooth drainage to prevent flooding inside the sheds.
3. Safeguard materials such as spawn, raw materials, and cultivation bags by moving them to higher ground if necessary to avoid flood damage.
4. Factory-based mushroom enterprises and spawn production facilities should arrange for on-site personnel to ensure electrical and equipment safety, inspect power lines and transformers, and prepare emergency power supplies, water pumps, and backup lighting.
5. If the storm coincides with the outdoor fermentation of compost for button mushrooms, cover the compost with plastic sheeting before the rain and ensure proper drainage. Remove the plastic sheeting afterward to prevent anaerobic fermentation.
6. For high-temperature mushroom varieties, reinforce mushroom sheds and address drainage issues around the area
7. Ensure proper drainage to prevent mushroom cultivation bags from being soaked and contaminated.

2. Post-Disaster Response

1. Maintain Hygiene and Control Pests and Diseases

   • Clear weeds and debris around mushroom farms promptly, disinfect with lime or bleach powder, and manage pests like mushroom flies and contamination using specialized mushroom-safe pest control agents.

2. Clean Flood-Affected Areas

   • Drain standing water, remove mud and debris, and relocate submerged or buried cultivation bags to shaded, ventilated areas. Disinfect the premises with lime, chlorine dioxide, or bleach, ensuring thorough drying and pest control before resuming production.

1. Mushroom Bag Management

   • Wash submerged or contaminated cultivation bags with clean water, then spray with a lime or bleach solution. Relocate them to dry, ventilated areas for recovery.
   • For bags that absorbed excessive water, puncture small holes in the plastic to release moisture and improve aeration, promoting mycelial recovery. Conduct ventilation during cooler periods to avoid heat stress.
   • For severely damaged bags, reconnect broken sections with bamboo skewers, reposition them on racks, and remove any crushed or contaminated bags promptly to prevent cross-infection.

2. Reprocess Contaminated Spawn Bags

   • For spawn bags submerged shortly after inoculation, open the bags, sun-dry the substrate, and remix with fresh materials to recreate spawn bags.

3. Ensure Cultivation Environment Recovery

   • After cleaning and disinfecting, ensure soil or substrate conditions are restored to optimum levels for further cultivation.

By taking these preventive and responsive measures, mushroom farmers can minimize losses during extreme weather events and ensure the sustainability of their operations.