MUSHROOM CULTIVATION: Multiplying spawn on sorghum seeds

8. Transfer all prepared bottles to the

sterilization chamber.
Close chamber. Fire-up burner or stove
to heat chamber. Make sure to release
all air from the chamber before starting.
Keep pressure in the chamber at 15
lb./sq.inch. or 121o Celsius for 30
minutes for small chambers and 45
minutes for medium chambers.
Let bottles cool down.

9. Transfer bottles to a clean and cool

place.

10. Bottles must be cleaned and well

prepared.
Prepare the well verified PDA bottles

11. Clean laminar flow chamber using

alcohol.

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MUSHROOM CULTIVATION: Multiplying spawn on sorghum seeds

12. Transfer PDA, sorghum seed bottles,

paper and rubber bands in laminar flow
chamber. Light UV lamp for 10 15
minutes before starting.
Place needle in alcohol.
Turn off UV.
Clean both hands with alcohol and insert
hands into the chamber.

13. Using 2 fingers, take out needle, pass

through fire as to burn alcohol, and
disinfect needle. Make sure the needle
turns red.

14. After the needle cooled down to normal

state, use needle to cut small square
(5mm x 5mm) of PDA with mycelium
(white color).

15. Close bottle immediately. Remain near

flame at all times.

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MUSHROOM CULTIVATION: Multiplying spawn on sorghum seeds

16. Using other hand flame around the

mouth and shoulder of the sorghum seed
bottle.
Using other fingers, open spawn bottle
near flame to avoid contamination.

17. Insert needle and inoculate sorghum

seeds with PDA mycelium by placing
small square piece in the middle of the
bottle. Make sure the PDA mycelium
does not touch anything before entering
the sorghum seeds bottle.
Note: The mouth of the bottle should be
near the flame. The mouth should remain
higher than the bottom part at all times. Do
not touch mouth of bottle with piece of
PDA.

18. Close bottle immediately.

19. Place square paper over cotton and tie

with plastic neck or rubber band.
.

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MUSHROOM CULTIVATION: Multiplying spawn on sorghum seeds

20. Label inoculated sorghum bottles

writing: Date, Spawn no., ref., and
inoculation time.
Note: It takes about 10 15 days to get fullgrown sorghum grain mycelium, depending
on the species.

21. Keep mature sorghum seeds in a cool

place or in the vegetable compartment
of the refrigerator.
Check for infection regularly.

22. Remove contaminated bottles.

Transfer contaminated bottles to cleaning

site. Clean bottles as normal glassware.

23. Observe and collect data. Take notes to

draw conclusions.
Note: A loss of about 3% is to be expected.

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MUSHROOM CULTIVATION: Producing substrate bags

Step 5. PRODUCING SUBSTRATE BAGS

1. Prepare materials:

Plastic bags (polypropylene 7 x 12.5)

Plastic necks (about 4 cm diameter)
Cotton plugs
Cover filters (square piece of filter
paper)
Rubber bands
Sawdust (cover top of substrate pile
with rice sacks to maintain humidity)
Rice bran
Calcium sulfate
Calcium carbonate
Magnesium sulfate

Note: Substrate is the material used to grow mushrooms. This material or substrate is a
mixture of all ingredients or food necessary for mushrooms to develop. Although
sawdust is the most common and easy to use basic material for making mushroom
substrate bags, other alternate and sometimes lower cost materials can be used. For
example, in Asia, because of intense rice cultivation,, rice straw can be used since straw is
readily available in most rural areas. Because of its lower cost (and local availability) it
may be better suited as a substrate than sawdust. Furthermore, rice straw generally
generates higher yield and better quality mushrooms; both texture and taste of mushrooms
are improved when using straw instead of sawdust. Nevertheless, straw needs to be
prepared before use requiring harder work, and fermentation for a period of 9 12 days.
2. Preparing rice straw as substrate:
Put straw in grinder to reduce its size.
Soak paddy straw 100 Kg. with water
and mix with urea 1-2 % by weight,
ferment for 3 days. Turn over the pile,
then mix with 2% lime and ferment it
again 3 days. Turn over the pile again,
mix with 0.2% magnesium sulfate, and
ferment 3 more days. The last turn over
makes the straw readily composted for
using as substrate. Check moisture and
for a urea smell. If there is no urea smell
and the moisture is 65-75%, the
substrate is ready for packing. If there is
some urea smell, it is necessary to
ferment further until there is no more
smell. Then pack in size 8 x 12 PP.
Bags.

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MUSHROOM CULTIVATION: Producing substrate bags

3. Substrate preparation
100 kg
Sawdust
Add to sawdust:
5 kg
Rice bran
2 kg
Calcium sulfate
1 kg
Calcium carbonate
0.2 kg
Magnesium sulfate
0-1 kg
Sugar
Note: Substrate recipe should serve as a
reference. Recipe can be changed by adding
some rice flour, sticky rice flour, corn flour,
cassava peels, cotton waste, Soya-bean
residue, and other nutritious agricultural
waste. In cool climates, it is possible to use
additives or complementing materials up to
20%. Beware: for hot climatic zones, do not
use more than 7.5% additives. (If rice straw,
recipe needs to be modified as above
mentioned)

4. Weigh all components using scale.

5. Mix well all ingredients in mixer or

manually using shovels or paddles

6. Add water to keep moisture content

between 65-75 %.

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MUSHROOM CULTIVATION: Producing substrate bags

7. Make sure all ingredients are well mixed

and that there are no lumps.

8. Sitting on floor, fill plastic bags with

substrate using small shovel.

9. Compact substrate by hitting bags with

empty bottle, hand,

Or

Use compacting machine.

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MUSHROOM CULTIVATION: Producing substrate bags

10. Place plastic ring on bag

11. Pull out top of bag through plastic neck.

12. Fold-down on plastic ring.

13. Tie with rubber band.

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MUSHROOM CULTIVATION: Producing substrate bags

14. Introduce stick with pointed head

through plastic neck of bag to make hole
almost to the bottom of the bag;
DO NOT TOUCH BOTTOM of bag.

15. Check weight of bags (should be

between 800-1000 grams per bag)

16. Prepare plastic caps to close bags by

adding cotton.

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MUSHROOM CULTIVATION: Producing substrate bags

17. Close bags with plastic caps.

18. Fill iron racks (9 bags per rack for

commercial chamber).
Transfer bags to pasteurization chamber.

68