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Shiitake mushrooms, information about cultivation technology
Shiitake (Lentinus edodes) is a mushroom found in spring and autumn on various drying wood species, such as oak, hornbeam, common beech, birch. In directed culture, shiitake mushroom is found in Japan, China, Taiwan, Pakistan, and India where it is the second-largest group of mushrooms after Agaricus (Champignon) mushrooms. In China and Japan, they have been known for over 2000 years and are highly prized for their distinctive taste and fragrance.
Botanical particularities
The shiitake mushroom forms a robust carpophore, with a slightly convex, almost flat cap. The cap has a diameter between 5-20 cm and brown color of different shades, on a whitish-gray background.
Ecological requirements
The carpophore appears at 10-15ºC and at the relative humidity of 90-95%. The optimum temperature for mycelium growth is 25ºC. At 45ºC the mycelium dies if kept for 40 minutes, but withstands negative temperatures of -15ºC and even lower. Due to the low light requirement, shiitake can also grow in shady places.
Cultivation
The advantages of this species are that it can be grown on wood or on lignified waste.
Shiitake mushroom cultivation can be done in two ways: on outdoor logs, on logs placed in greenhouses, or in sheds.
The main technological stages are wood selection, incubation, and carpophore development. In countries where the cultivation of this mushroom is extensive, plantations of deciduous species (beech, chestnut, oak, poplar, birch) are planted for this purpose.
Mycelium inoculation
It consists in inserting it in the holes made on the wood surface (diameter of 5-8 mm and at distances of 3-6 cm) and covering them with melted wax. Incubation lasts 12-16 months or even 24 months when the mushroom primordia appear on the surface of the log. Mushrooms reach maturity in spring (May-June) in 45 days and in autumn (September-November) in 10-15 days.
Harvesting
Shiitake mushrooms can be harvested for 3-4 years at a temperature of 10-20ºC. The yield obtained is 25-30 kg/m³ wood or more than 35% of the weight of the wood inoculated with mycelium. Shiitake mushrooms can be eaten fresh, but also dried, retaining their distinctive taste and aroma.
