Pests and Disease Management in Mushroom
Dactylium Diseases Green Mold Verticillium Spot Verticullium disease
Disease | Symptoms | Cause | Comments | Management |
Dactylium Diseases (Dactylium Cladobotryum) | Webbed, mycelial growth on surface of casing and mushrooms, infected mushrooms will develop a soft, watery rot | Fungus | Growth of the mold is restricted to the casing layer, disease will spread fast if untreated | Control by good sanitary practices, casing should be kept clean and sanitized, all tools and equipments should be cleaned and sanitized, pathogen in susceptible to low humidity an d can be inhibited by lowering the humidity in the growing room |
Verticillium spot(Veticillium fungicola) | Mushrooms deformed, spotting on mushrooms, severe infection can cause a deformation know as “dry bubble” which causes the sporocarp to appear as large puffball like masses, bubbles will become covered with a gray, fuzzy growth | Fungus | May be confused with bacterial infections, spread by flies are infected equipments | Bubbles should not be touched and can be destroyed using salt, fungicides are available for the treatment of Verticullium disease in mushroom but they provide toxic effects |
Green Mold(Trichoderma spp. Penicillium cyclopium, Aspergillus spp.) | Dense layer of mycelium is present on casing surface which is initially white in color but changes to green | Fungi | One of the most destructive diseases of cultivated mushrooms | Prevention is best achieved by sanitation practices, ensure compost is properly pasteurized prior to use and sterilize any supplements |
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