As the title suggests, the casing plays a major role in the size (diameter) of the mushroom.
The casing is also important to the weight of each individual mushroom. The heavier the cover, the fewer mushrooms, but larger and heavier.
The light cover, on the other hand, means that there are more mushrooms, but smaller and lighter.
The influence of casing on the size of mushrooms
If we see a trend in the market for smaller mushrooms, it means that the manufacturer needs more mushrooms per m2, well stretched but absolutely not lightweight. So the logical choice would be a lighter coat, but this is not the right one. Mushrooms will be smaller but too light in weight. TORFAN casing is usually a heavier casing but has the right structure to grow also smaller mushrooms when the market requires it. It is open enough and contains enough water to ensure heavy fungus. But this will require special attention.
If the market requires smaller mushrooms, it is very important to prepare the casing in the mushroom farm in the right way.
First you need to make sure that the structure remains open but slightly looser than normal. This can be achieved by using a structuring machine at very low speed. Not fast because the cover will become too loose. Adding water to the casing is no problem.
On a loading combine, the cacing chain must rotate slowly, but leveling may be faster than normal. This keeps the casing heavy but open in its top layer. This will result in a slightly heavier binding but still able to provide sufficient stretch to the cast. This is very important because when the mushrooms are smaller, harvesting becomes a little slower. If there is no stretch, the set will be too slow.
The scheme of giving water can stay as usual. In summer, this means between 25 and 30 liters per square meter.
In a casing prepared in this way, the producer can still grow different sizes of mushrooms. With a faster shock they will be smaller but if the shock is slower it is possible to achieve a plug size of approx. 50 mm.
Advise
Henk van Gerwen