Common Pests of Shiitake Mushrooms and Their Control Methods

If we want to make shiitake mushrooms grow better during the cultivation process, we must do a good job of preventing and controlling pests. Today, we have sorted out the types and prevention methods of shiitake mushroom pests for you:

① Mites:

Also known as red spider, it has no antennae, wings, compound eyes, and an unsegmented body. It hides in manure, meal, feed, and culture medium, and feeds on mushroom mycelium, young mushrooms, mature mushrooms, and stored dried mushrooms, posing a health hazard to growers and consumers.

Prevention and control methods: Once the fungus species with mite damage are found, they should be immediately detected and removed, and high-temperature drug treatment should be carried out. Fungus species with mite damage should not be used as cultivars for reproduction. Fumigation should be carried out in the culture room where the fungus species have been damaged by mites with dichlorvos, aluminum phosphide, and calcium phosphide; before placing the fungus species, 0.25 kg of 20% trichlorfon wettable powder plus 0.25 kg of 40% dimethoate or 1-2.5 kg of wettable sulfur should be used, and then 250 kg of water should be sprayed on the mushroom shed. When the temperature is lower than 25℃, 0.25 kg of 20% trichlorfon wettable powder and 0.25 kg of 25% cypermethrin should be used instead, and then 250 kg of water should be sprayed. During the culture period, use 500 grams of powder to treat 200 bottles of bacteria or 20 square meters of culture field, and treat once every 25-30 days; for cultivated species with slight mite infestation, a cotton ball dipped in a small amount of 50% dichlorvos can be stuffed into the seed bottle 1 to 2 days before use to fumigate and kill the mites; bacteria with severe mite infestation should be sprayed with acaricides in time when they are scrapped.

Mushroom pests

② Nematodes:

It is a pink thread-like worm, about 1 mm long, and reproduces very quickly. It eats the fruiting bodies of shiitake mushrooms and carries bacteria that cause the mushrooms to rot, causing the small mushroom buds to shrink and die. When nematodes occur, soaking the mushroom bags in 1% quicklime and 1% salt water for 12 hours can kill them.

③ Springtails:

It is also called the fragrant ash worm and rice ash worm. The larvae are white. The adults are gray-blue and jump like fleas. They reproduce very quickly and often gather around the inoculation holes or at the junction of the stipe and the gills. They damage the mycelium, causing the mushroom buds and bodies to wither and die. If springtails are found, they can be killed with pyrethroid drugs.

④Slug:

Commonly known as sticky insects, the adult body is 5 to 8 cm long, the body is grayish white, the head and tail are slightly pointed, and the abdomen can secrete mucus, which leaves a thin layer of white liquid after crawling. It lurks in dark and humid places during the day and comes out at night to bite the mushroom cap and gills, and sometimes hides in the gills to eat. After the pest is found, it can be sprayed with 1% vegetable cake liquid or 5% salt solution; sprinkle quicklime or white alkali in the places where slugs often move, and the slugs will die if they are stained with it. It can also be killed manually.

⑤ Mushroom moth:

The larvae are white with black heads, 7-8 mm long, and the adults are 0.5-0.6 cm long. The forewings are dark brown, the hindwings are yellow-brown, the antennae are filamentous, and the trunk is yellow-milky white. The mushroom moth can reproduce 4 generations a year. Its larvae and adults can take turns to live in the mushroom wood, causing more dead holes, affecting the spread of mycelium, reducing the utilization rate of the mushroom wood, and reducing the yield. The adults lay eggs on the dried mushrooms. If the dried mushrooms have a high water content, the eggs will hatch into adults. In the early stage, they mostly live in the gills or in the mushroom debris, damaging the mushroom cap, making the mushroom lose its commercial value.

Prevention and control methods: It is difficult to prevent dried shiitake mushrooms from being eaten. The most important thing is to keep the moisture content of shiitake mushrooms below 13%. After drying, put the shiitake mushrooms into two-layer plastic bags and put them into aluminum film cartons. Before sealing the packaging box, it is best to put some moisture absorbents such as calcium chloride to keep the shiitake mushrooms from being damaged for a long time. Regular inspections should be carried out during the rainy season. Once moisture is found, they should be baked in time. If dried shiitake mushrooms have been damaged by mushroom moths, they can be fumigated with carbon disulfide or chloropicrin. Put 5 ml of carbon disulfide in every 15 kg of dried mushrooms to kill the larvae or adults of mushroom moths. Carbon disulfide is flammable, so pay attention to fire prevention when fumigating. Chloropicrin has a strong irritating odor, strong permeability, and strong insecticidal power.

⑥Beetles:

Most beetle pests belong to the order Coleoptera, and the most common ones are the red flour beetle and the spiny-breasted worm. The adult body length of these two beetles is 2 to 4 mm, with a flat body, a shiny back, 11 antennae, and 3 bulging segments at the end. The red flour beetle is oval, reddish brown to dark brown, with black compound eyes; the spiny-breasted worm is dark black or yellowish brown, with round, brown compound eyes, flat wings at the end, and two dorsal plates of the abdomen exposed, commonly known as the worm. The larvae of these two beetles bite and eat gills and shiitake mushrooms, affecting the quality of shiitake mushrooms, and the adults lurk in the gills to lay eggs.

Prevention and control methods: Same as mushroom moth. Once a large number of pests occur, place the mushrooms in a drying room at 60℃ for 2-3 hours to kill the pests.