How to induce shiitake bud formation in spring-planted shiitake logs?

How to induce shiitake bud formation in spring-planted shiitake logs?

Spring-planted shiitake logs often have black bark after over-summering, with a relatively hard fungal skin that makes it difficult for fruiting. After removing bags from such logs, first rinse them to wash off the black water and green mold on the surface, which ensures uniform shiitake fruiting.

In addition, spray plenty of water and provide ample ventilation in the morning and evening to lower the temperature of the shiitake logs and create a large temperature difference to stimulate fruiting. During the day, appropriately reduce ventilation. When the shiitake logs dry out, spray an appropriate amount of water on them, focusing on maintaining moisture.

Generally, after 3 days of temperature difference stimulation, from the 4th day, keep the temperature and humidity consistent day and night to induce bud formation and fruiting.

Before buds emerge, avoid strong light to prevent the fungal skin from drying out, which would hinder fruiting.

Maintain the temperature of the shiitake logs at 18-20°C, and try to not exceed 24°C. Because high temperatures combined with high humidity can accelerate bud formation, but they tend to cause the shiitake stems to elongate.

After the shiitake logs produce mushroom buds, appropriately increase ventilation during the day and reduce water spraying. As more buds gradually emerge, increase ventilation during the day, stop spraying water, and increase light in the morning and evening. Keep the buds dry during the day to prevent the stems from elongating.

If there is no wind at night, there will be natural moisture, so there is no need to spray water on the buds; let them absorb moisture naturally.

If there is wind at night, pay attention to covering the shed to maintain temperature and humidity, and appropriately atomize the buds, The spraying should not exceed one minute, mainly to increase the humidity in the space, allowing the buds to rehydrate naturally at night.

If the night temperature is too low, below 13°C, cover the shed to maintain temperature and humidity. If the temperature is too low without covering the shed, the buds are prone to becoming dark and thin due to low temperature and high humidity in the latter half of the night.

Therefore, during the bud formation period, first of all, focus on moisture retention at night and avoid spraying water directly on the mushroom buds.

In autumn, the temperature difference is large, and the humidity is high in the morning and evening. If the mushroom buds are too dry and you are unsure about how and how much to spray, the safest method is to water the ground at night, allowing the buds to absorb moisture and rehydrate naturally. This ensures the buds have a uniform color and are less likely to turn black.

The most important thing in inducing bud formation for spring-planted shiitake mushrooms is to prevent the stems from elongating. This can be achieved by increasing ventilation during the day to keep the buds dry and allowing them to rehydrate naturally at night.