Mushroom queen of Tarlac shares the steps in growing paddy straw mushroom

THERE ARE THOUSANDS OF MUSHROOM

SPECIES WORLDWIDE, but not all of them are edible. “One indicator that mushrooms are poisonous is that it has white gills,” said Emma Tolentino, farmer, ATI learning site cooperator, and owner of Eco Natural Integrated Farm, during an AgriTalk webinar on mushroom production.

Tolentino, also known as the mushroom queen of Tarlac, mainly cultivates paddy straw mushroom or straw mushroom (Volvariella volvacea), one of the common types of edible mushrooms that thrives in warm temperatures. “For paddy straw mushrooms or volva, its gills are greyish pink. If this is the case, more or less, it’s edible,” said the mushroom grower.

It is also called “kabuteng saging” or “kabuteng dayami” because the substrates used in growing this involve banana leaves and dayami or rice straw. It has a shorter growing period of two weeks or less compared to other varieties like oyster mushroom that need to be grown for a month. Straw mushroom is also homothallic or self-fertilizing, which means it can sexually reproduce without mating. Since paddy straw mushrooms are grown through banana leaves, these are high in potassium. They also contain high lysine that helps human body tissues grow and recover from damage.

GROWING KABUTE

Unlike plants, mushrooms are not grown in seeds, but through spores. Mushroom cultivation is an eco-friendly way to reduce agricultural waste, while growing them for profit or consumption provide health and monetary benefits.

Paddy straw mushrooms can thrive indoors and outdoors as long as the temperature of 35 to 38 degrees celsius is attained. These must be grown in high areas that can’t be reached by water and in places without direct sun and farm animals.

You won’t really need a large space or expensive materials in constructing the bed where your straw mushrooms will grow, the vital thing in the process, aside from the materials, is cleanliness.

CULTIVATING PADDY STRAW MUSHROOMS

The materials you will need to start cultivating paddy straw mushrooms are:

• dried banana leaves for the mushroom bed

• paddy straw mushroom spawn from a hygienic and reputable source

• kakawate (Gliricidia sepium) leaves

• bamboo and wire for a structure to elevate the bed from the ground

• transparent plastic sheets to cover the spore bags once placed on the bed

• a spray solution made of rice wash and brown sugar.

Making the bed. The growing bed is composed of layers of banana leaves planted with spawn where mushrooms develop. There are cases that this is elevated by a constructed bamboo flooring to prevent termites and ants from going into the bed, but Tolentino also prefers placing the growing bed directly on the ground, especially if there’s no presence of pests in the area. Bamboo is also attached on both ends of the bed that will keep the plastic sheets in place later on.

To make the growing bed, collect dried banana leaves that are still attached to the tree and not the leaves that have fallen on the ground to elude from getting any bacteria that may not be beneficial to your mushrooms. Bind together banana leaves at least four inches wide using string. The leaves must be bound properly so the leaves won’t fall off during the process. Once tied, cut them into pieces with a length of 12 to 14 inches per bundle. 1 - The process of binding the dried banana leaves. 2 - A bunch of bound banana leaves before cutting.

3 - Cut the banana leaves into bundles that measure about 12 to 14 inches long.

4 - After cutting, soak the bundles of banana leaves in water overnight.

Submerge the banana leaf bundles in clean water overnight. To prevent it from floating, put wood or any clean and heavy material on top of the bundles to keep them submerged. This will allow all parts of banana leaves to absorb water equally. The next day, remove the water and make sure to keep the moisture of banana leaves at 40 to 50 percent. Its color must be chocolate brown. If it’s too wet, let it sit for a while to release the excess water.

5 - The color of the banana leaves will turn chocolate brown the next day. Let the bundles sit for a bit to release the excess water.

An alternative to banana leaves is rice straw. There are cases that they are mixed in the bunches as well. In terms of the ratio, there’s no specific amount of banana leaves, but as long as you have a larger amount of banana leaves than the rice straw, then you can

12 - After 10 days of planting, the mushrooms will be visible. 13 - Harvested paddy straw mushrooms.

Let the bed sit for five days after being planted. On the fifth day, open it for five to ten minutes and cover it again with plastic. But this time, the plastic must have a wider distance from the bed to let air circulate inside. This allows carbon dioxide to be released from the bed, allowing the mushroom pinheads to grow more.

Harvesting. After 10 to 14 days of incubation, mushrooms will be visible and ready for harvest. Simply twist the mushrooms and pull it all out. Make sure that nothing has been left in the ground.

If you live in a cold humid area like in Baguio, Tolentino says that it is still possible to cultivate straw mushrooms indoors. The temperature of 35 to 38 degree celsius must be maintained or else, there will be no formation of mushrooms. If this is the case, it is better to grow them during the summer season as this is a warmloving mushroom.

In Tolentino’s farm, they do not remove the plastic cover on each mushroom bed to control the temperature inside that is crucial for the growth of mushrooms. Tolentino added that removing the cover is feasible if the grower has the capacity to control the temperature of the mushroom house.

In cultivating any types of mushroom, the most important thing is to maintain a clean environment. Take a bath before starting the process and regular use of alcohol to disinfect one’s hands is also recommended. If possible, use a lab gown, surgical gloves, and a facemask to avoid contamination of bacteria.

Insights shared by Emma Tolentino during the first day of Agritalk 2020: Urban Agriculture Promotion Webinar Series about Mushroom Production held last August 19, 2020.

Screenshots from the video demonstration of mushroom production posted by ATI Central Luzon.