Mycogone or bubble was a big troublemaker at the end of the summer and autumn on many mushroom growing farms. It was often impossible to pick third flushes and in a number of cases, second flushes were so badly affected that only partial harvest was possible.
The growing room then has to be cooked out and the compost temperature kept at 70 degrees Celsius for a minimum of eight hours. If there are flies on the farm, it’s advisable to apply a short working insecticide in the growing room to prevent flies hiding away in nooks and crannies, only to infect the next or subsequent crops. Once a company has been infected via outside sources such as dust or flies, reinfection is very common. This reinfection is an important cause of an often months long persistent bubble infection.
The problem is identifying the exact root of the problem. By observing and applying a series of stringent hygiene organisational and technical measures, it is possible to quickly eliminate bubble from the farm. Calling on an external specialist to run a thorough inspection of the company often highlights the weak links.
Jos Hilkens, AdVisie ‘The mushroom cultivation advisors’
hilkens@mushroomconsulting.nl
